Having Your Cake and Eating It Too Shouldn't Be So Difficult
by Algernon Fenton
Summary: Ikkaku and Yumichika have been together for a long time and Yumichika thinks it's about time for them to start a family, but Ikkaku is more than a little bit reluctant. Will Yumichika ever convince Ikkaku that this is a good idea or will he have to take things into his own hands? Yaoi and Mpreg.
1. Rejoice or Regret

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Hey! I'm back with that Ikka/Yumi Mpreg fic I promised you all! I hope you all enjoy it and support it as much as you did my other two Mpreg fics. There are two other fics ahead of this one, but you do not have to read those two if you do not wish to. The first one is called "How Do You Choose?" and it revolves around Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake. The second fic is called "Letting Go of Pride to Bring New Life" and it revolves around Renji Abarai and Byakuya Kuchiki. I will put notes at the bottom of the chapter for those that do not want to read the other two fics but also do not want to be confused.  
**

**Okay, I also want to thank the people who reviewed and faved the last chapter of my RenBya fic. So here are the special thanks: blood87 for reviewing, Kyuumihaira for reviewing, EzraTheBlue for reviewing, Fox-Sin for reviewing, Jazzybella for reviewing, lilasin101 for faving, ELR1 for faving, Brilha Brilha Estrelinha for faving, RedCr0w for reviewing, Guest for reviewing, .754 for faving, Kay Leo for faving, Kuramagirl26 for faving, Nox Lupine for faving and following, Sauri555 for faving, Vincent Claudius for reviewing.  
**

**Also, if you guys enjoy Bleach Mpreg you should check out EzraTheBlue's new IkkaYumi Mpreg fic called "Fight For What's Worth". It is based around the Mpreg fics I have already written. I gave this author permission to use some of the things in my fics for their fic. If there are some similarities then that is just a coincidence and not intentional. It's a really awesome fic so definitely check it out!  
**

**Okay, happy reading!**

* * *

Yumichika Ayasegawa, the fifth seat of Squad Eleven, sat on the futon he shared with his lover and partner Ikkaku Madarame. He was alone for the moment seeing as the aforementioned third seat was escorting the lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi back to the Captain's quarters and hadn't made it back yet. The raven haired man lets a sigh pass his lips as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks to be a neatly wrapped piece of hard candy. Yumichika knew that it wasn't hard candy and he also knew that he should be ashamed for swiping the lozenge from Kuchiki Manor when he was visiting with Renji the other day. He'd asked to use the restroom while there and found it while snooping in the cabinets. Yumichika knew what it was because Renji had wrenched it away from Yachiru one day and explained to her that it wasn't candy. When questioned about why they still had one of the lozenges, Renji had said that they received two just in case the first one didn't work. The redhead also said that he and Byakuya kept the extra because even though the sixth captain had sworn he didn't want another child they didn't throw it out just in case.

The clear wrapped lozenge looked innocent enough as he examined it through the wrapper. It was difficult to believe that the golden colored lozenge could actually produce a mock uterus inside the male body and produce an egg just waiting to be fertilized. The fifth seat lets out another sigh imagining that the lozenge might taste like honey considering the color. He really didn't care what it tasted like to be honest…he was really trying to distract his mind from what he was about to do. He knew he shouldn't even be considering taking the lozenge because he hadn't talked to Ikkaku about them having a baby…recently. He'd tried to talk to his lover about it several times, but every time he brought up the subject Ikkaku either shut down or got angry and they never got anywhere with their discussion.

Yumichika knew Ikkaku didn't want a baby, but for the past year and half having a baby with the third seat was all that occupied the dark haired shinigami's mind. He was torn between consuming the lozenge right now and dealing with the consequences later or trying one more time to talk with Ikkaku about it. Before he has time to think on it, the decision is made for him as he senses Ikkaku's reiatsu coming toward the room. Yumichika quickly shoves the lozenge back into his pocket just as his bald lover walks into the room.

"Hey, babe…why're ya still dressed?" He gives his vain lover a once over and frowns, "I thought you were gonna change clothes while I was takin' the lieutenant back?"

Yumichika forces a pleasant smile onto his face as he looks at his lover's face, "I was going to do that, but I let my thoughts get away with me and I suppose I'm still sitting here."

A confused expression wrinkles the third seats forehead, "What are ya thinking about? Is everything alright?"

For a split second, Yumichika thought about bringing up the subject of having a baby, but just as quickly as the idea came to mind, he dismisses it. It was far too late in the night to bring that subject up and they both had to be up early for squad duty the next day. Instead, he shakes his head and stands up from the futon, "No, nothing's wrong…I was just thinking about what I might eat for breakfast tomorrow." He then walks toward his lover and puts his arms around Ikkaku's neck, "But since we're both still dressed I figure we can help undress each other and shower together."

A devious smile forms on the larger man's face at the fifth seats idea, "I think I like that idea, babe."

"I thought you would." Yumichika tries to forget about the lozenge in his pocket as he brings his lips to touch lightly against Ikkaku's lips. He then steps back and takes his lover's hand before leading them both toward the bathroom.

The next evening, Yumichika finds himself staring at his recently slapped hand before his violet eyes travel to the lozenge lying on the floor of Rangiku's quarters, "What the hell, Rangiku?! Did you just slap that out of my hand?!"

"Are you out of your mind, Yumichika?!" Her wide eyes dart from the lozenge on the floor back to Yumichika, "Is that what I think it is and have you talked to Ikkaku about this?!"

Yumichika gives the Squad Ten lieutenant an annoyed glare and an even more annoyed sounding growl as he bends down to retrieve the lozenge, "I am perfectly well in my right mind, thank you very much." He slips the lozenge back into his pocket before addressing her other questions, "And yes it is, but no I haven't…or at least not successfully."

The large busted lieutenant flings herself ungracefully into a chair before letting out an exasperated sigh, "You cannot possibly be considering having a baby! You just can't! Have you even thought this all the way through?!"

"I've thought about it enough and I would appreciate it if you would keep your voice down." He crosses his arms over his chest and frowns, "I'd rather the entire Seireitei didn't know about it before I even properly talk to Ikkaku about all this."

She sits up a little more proper in the chair before giving him a serious look, "Haven't you even thought about how much you'll ruin everything?"

An expression mixed with offense and confusion gather on his face, "Excuse me? Everything being…what exactly?"

An even more offended look plays across her features as she dramatically stands up, "How in Soul Society are we going to go shopping and give each other manicures and gossip about people and get wasted together if you're dragging a baby around?!"

The fifth seat's mouth drops open in shock before he angrily places his hands on his hips, "Oh, well pardon me for thinking you would be concerned for my safety during it all!"

"I haven't forgotten you, sweetie." She walks closer to him and places her hand on his stomach, "Just think about how fat you'll get…and stretch marks! How can you even consider doing this?! You'll ruin your figure forever!"

He slaps her hand away from his abdomen and turns his back to her, "I had already resigned myself to getting fat and I feel that it's something that I can reconcile once the baby is born." He turns back around with a sad expression on his face, "I was more concerned with getting to that point considering I haven't been able to talk to Ikkaku about it yet. I was hoping you could help me think of ways to bring the subject up without upsetting him, but you are obviously more set on thinking of all the ways that my future baby is going to be a buzz kill!"

An apologetic look appears on her features as she takes Yumichika's soft hand into her own, "Oh, honey…you know I was just kidding around. I can't wait for you to have a baby and it will be so cute and we can dress it up and…"

He pulls his hand out of her grasp and gives her a stern look, "Save it, Rangiku. Can you help me out with Ikkaku or not?"

"I don't know? He's very stubborn and he never has listened to me." She gives him a defeated look, "Have you tried to talk to him about it?"

The raven haired shinigami lets out a sigh as his shoulders slump, "That's the problem. Anytime I've tried to talk about it he gets mad and tells me I'm being stupid. Then he either pretends to go to sleep or storms out angry and only comes back after he's smashed at three or four in the morning."

The blonde contemplates the situation for a moment, "And he never gives you a reason why he doesn't want a kid with you?"

Yumichika shakes his head making his black hair swish around his face, "No, he just says he doesn't want a baby and the idea is stupid. Then he throws in all this stuff about being in the eleventh and a bunch of nonsense before finally getting mad. Then we argue and he won't sleep in the same futon with me for a few days and pretends like I don't exist until he's not mad anymore."

The lieutenant frowns, "I'm afraid that I don't know how to help. This isn't exactly my area of expertise, but I'm sure you'll think of something. You and him have been together for as long as I can remember…surely you've dealt with more challenging issues before, right?"

Yumichika shrugs, "I suppose, but none of those things fall anywhere into the category of having a baby." He lets out a depressed sigh, "I just don't know what to do."

Rangiku looks at her friend's upset features for as long as she can stand and finally takes his hand. This time he allows her to hold it without pulling away, "I don't like to see you looking so sad. Let me do your nails…that always makes you feel better."

The fifth seat knew having his nails done wouldn't make the situation any better, but he also knew that none of this was Rangiku's problem so he puts on a fake smile and nods, "You're right…it does always make me feel better. Thanks."

After having his fingernails and toenails done he did feel a little bit better, but he only felt physically better. He actually was more mentally confused with what he needed to do than ever before. He wanted to talk to Ikkaku about them starting a family, but he dreaded it at the same time because he knew it wouldn't accomplish anything. He finally makes his way back to his room and when he walks in he realizes that Ikkaku isn't there. He looks around the room a bit before remembering his lover had to stay a little bit later to make sure the new recruits finished all their training sets.

Yumichika sits down at the table and once again takes the stolen lozenge from his pocket. Maybe, Rangiku was right…maybe he hadn't thought this through enough. If he actually talked Ikkaku into this, he wouldn't be able to spend his afternoons shopping and drinking and he couldn't just spend lazy days getting his nails done. He shakes his head, those things were foolish compared to having a baby with the man he loved. He'd never seen Renji happier and he had never once seen Byakuya smile, but all the photos in their house depicted a very happy smiling family. The eighth and thirteenth captain's seemed very happy as well and their daughter was so beautiful it made Yumichika want to cry.

He wanted Ikkaku to want this too. He wanted to fill their place up with pictures and have a beautiful baby for people to be jealous of. He wanted to have a baby with Ikkaku and he just couldn't risk Ikkaku saying no. The fifth seat nervously pulls the two ends of the clear plastic wrap covering the lozenge and finally pulls the candy from the wrapper. His heart pounds as he brings the honey colored lozenge closer to his mouth. All he had to do now was open his mouth and drop the lozenge in…it was simple wasn't it?

Surely, he wasn't a bad person for doing this without Ikkaku's permission. He was in the eleventh squad and the eleventh always took what they wanted. It was no use, he knew what he was doing was wrong, but he had to at least try to convince himself that he wasn't betraying his best friend and lover. Finally, he closes his violet eyes and slips the lozenge into his mouth. After several minutes of forcing himself not to spit it out, the lozenge finally dissolves completely and Yumichika is left sitting alone wondering if he would come to rejoice or regret his decision.

TBC…

* * *

**Okay, here are the helpful hints: If you're going to read "How Do You Choose?" or "Letting Go of Pride to Bring New Life" this may spoil some things for you, but if not then read away.**

**1\. This is how the male pregnancy is even possible...**

** The male that will be carrying the fetus has to get a lozenge made by Captain Kurotsuchi. The lozenge is ingested and forms a temporary womb until the pregnancy is either terminated or carried to term. The lozenge also forms a blank egg waiting in the artificial uterus to be fertilized. The effects of the lozenge last for a week and the results are more potent the sooner fertilization takes place after the lozenge is ingested.**

**2\. Also, this fic takes place about a month after "Letting Go of Pride to Bring New Life". This makes Shunsui and Jushiro's daughter a little over a year old (maybe about 16 months old) and Byakuya and Renji's son a little over 2 months old at the beginning of this fic.**

**3\. If you don't read "How do you Choose?" or "Letting go of Pride to Bring New Life" I will fill you in on some things...**

** Shunsui and Jushiro's baby is girl and her name is Emiko. She has black, curly hair with Shunsui's eyes and Jushiro's pale skin.**

**Renji and Byakuya's baby is a boy and his name is Takahiro. He pretty much looks like Renji's mini-me.**

**Once again, thanks for reading and I will update as soon as possible.**


	2. Seven Days

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter of my new fic! You guys are awesome! Speciall thanks time: Jazzbella for faving, following, and reviewing, Nox Lupine for faving and following, Adele L for faving and following, Angel1028 for faving, following, and reviewing, SakuraSasuke92 for following, blood87 following and reviewing, and EzraTheBlue for following.**

**Also, I realized that I didn;t give you the entire name of EzraTheBlue's fic. The name of that fic is "Fight For What's Worth It". You guys should check that fic out it is awesome! It's also on Archive Of Our Own as are all of my fics.**

**And I said that Takahiro was a little over two months, but I meant to say that he was a little over three months.**

* * *

The next morning, Yumichika wakes before Ikkaku. Shortly after he'd swallowed the lozenge he began regretting what he'd done. Thankfully, when Ikkaku finally came home he was too tired to want to fool around. That gave the fifth seat one less thing to worry about for the time being. Yumichika didn't know what he was going to do. He'd ingested that lozenge without so much as even telling Ikkaku he even had it in the first place. A sick feeling of guilt and worry filled his stomach as he thought about what he was going to do for the next seven days. If he could hold Ikkaku off for seven days then the effects of the lozenge would wear off and he could pretend like this never happened. Then he could have a proper talk with Ikkaku and everything would be fine. The raven haired Soul Reaper groans as he thinks about how stupid his plan is. He would never be able to keep Ikkaku from having sex with him for seven days.

Yumichika steals a quick glance at the snoring man beside him and when he's certain that Ikkaku isn't going to wake up, he silently creeps out of the futon and heads to the bathroom. He closes the door behind him and pulls his short hair back as much as possible before leaning over the toilet and shoving his index and middle finger down his throat. It was a very ignorant and unbeautiful idea, but he thought that maybe the lozenge hadn't had time to do its thing yet and he could just get rid of the contents in his stomach including the remnants of the lozenge.

He felt his stomach lurch a few times, but sadly he couldn't get anything to emerge from his body. He pushes his finger down his throat a little deeper and gags a few times. Just when he thinks he may succeed, he hears a familiar voice behind him, "Yumi, what the hell are ya doin'?

The fifth seat quickly stands upright and wipes his fingers on the side of his night clothes before turning to face his lover, "I was…nothing! I thought you were asleep."

The bald shinigami continues to give his partner a weird look, "I was sleepin', but I heard ya making strange noises in here and I was makin' sure ya were alright." Ikkaku steps farther into the room still with the puzzled expression on his face, "We're ya makin' yerself throw up? Cause if ya think ya need to lose weight ya don't…yer skinny enough." Ikkaku's eyes widen and he shakes his head, "I mean…I'm not sayin' yer too skinny…I just meant that ya look great just the way ya are…that's all I meant."

Any other time Yumichika would have laughed and thanked his lover for the compliment, but he couldn't think about anything, but the mock uterus growing in his abdomen and he wracks his brain trying to think of an excuse to give Ikkaku, "I was trying to make myself throw up, but not because I wanted to lose weight…um, I ate something last night that didn't agree with me and I thought that if I threw up I would feel better."

Ikkaku crosses his arms over his chest and gives his lover a skeptical look, "Are ya sure that's all? You've been actin' strange the past couple of days…ya know, like ya been thinkin' too hard about somethin'."

Yumichika tucks a piece of dark hair behind his ear as he avoids the other man's eyes, "I've just had a lot on my mind…it's nothing you need to worry about." He eventually looks at Ikkaku's face, "It's just stupid stuff to do with…my beauty treatments." Yumichika nods not only to convince Ikkaku, but to convince himself as well, "The oil I use to treat my hair is being discontinued and now I just don't know what I'm going to use."

The third seat bursts out laughing at Yumichika's explanation, "Is that all? The way ya been moping around here I thought somethin' serious was goin' on." Ikkaku makes his way closer to his partner and wraps his arms around Yumichika's waist, "I can think of a really fun way to get yer mind off of yer hair problem."

Ikkaku places his lips on Yumichika's neck making the fifth seat shiver, but instead of letting Ikkaku continue Yumichika wiggles out of his grasp and almost trips over the bathroom rug trying to get away. He lets out a nervous laugh as he scoots passed Ikkaku and heads to the door, "As fun as that would be, I really have to get dressed and get going."

A disappointed frown appears on the bald man's face, "Where the hell do ya have to be in such a hurry? We ain't got squad duty fer another two hours."

Yumichika makes his way to the bathroom sink and begins putting toothpaste on his toothbrush, "The captain has a meeting today and it's my turn to look after Yachiru. The captain's meeting starts in fifteen minutes." It wasn't a lie…he did have to look after the lieutenant just not as soon as he was telling Ikkaku. He begins brushing his teeth awaiting his lover's response.

"Since when?" Ikkaku scratches his head as he tries to think back to all their conversations, "Ya didn't tell me that."

The fifth seat spits in the sink and rinses his mouth out before responding, "Yes, I did…I told you that last night when you came in."

"Aw hell, Yumi…ya know I don't remember shit ya tell me when I'm that tired." A sly smile spreads across his face as he slides behind Yumichika and grabs the raven haired man's ass in both hands, "Are ya sure ya don't have a few minutes, babe? I'd love to get a hold of that ass fer a few minutes before goin' to squad duty."

Yumichika jumps when he feels Ikkaku's rough hands on his barely clothed ass and almost lets out a moan, but quickly stops himself. He clears his throat as he reaches around and pulls his lover's hands away, "Ikkaku, you know how carried away you get…the lieutenant will get restless and come looking for me and you know good and well the captain will have both of our heads if Yachiru catches us doing that." The smaller man once again twists away from Ikkaku and notices the pout on the bald man's face "Don't look like that, Ikkaku. You know I have my orders from the captain."

"But…just fer a few minutes." His pout worsens to the point that he looks like Yachiru being denied a piece of candy, "The lieutenant will be fine fer a little bit."

Yumichika lets out a loud sigh, "I don't have time. You know how long it takes me to get dressed and now I'm going to have to rush as it is." The third seat's pout remains making Yumichika feel slightly guilty, "If you'll let me get dressed then I promise I'll give you a blow job tonight when you come in from squad duty. How does that sound?"

Ikkaku thinks about this for a few seconds before replacing his pout with a perplexed expression, "Why can't we just have sex tonight?"

The dark haired shinigami gives his partner a stern look accompanied with a frustrated sigh, "Do you want the blow job or not?!"

Ikkaku holds his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "Okay, okay…fine. I would enjoy a blow job tonight, jeeze."

Yumichika makes his way back to the sink to wash his face, "Now that we have that settle would you kindly get the fuck out so I can get dressed?"

Ikkaku rolls his eyes, "As ya wish, yer majesty."

The third seat finally leaves the bathroom and Yumichika lets out a relived sigh. At least he'd kept Ikkaku from finding out what he'd done and he'd managed to hold off having sex for at least today. When he exits the bathroom, Ikkaku is sitting at the table pouting, but the fifth seat just couldn't be worried with that at the moment, "I'm headed out to babysit the lieutenant. I'll see you tonight." Ikkaku only lets out a grunt as Yumichika makes his way outside.

The captain's meeting sure was taking forever. Yumichika felt like he'd been sitting with Yachiru for a lifetime. He was half way paying attention to her in the first place as his thoughts kept wandering to his situation. He should just come right out and tell Ikkaku what he'd done and then his bald lover could get mad at him and they could fight, but since he would know about the lozenge then they could use a condom and have great make up sex. That sounded like a good plan, but it wouldn't just end with him admitting he'd taken the lozenge, then Ikkaku would want to know why he took it and they would have their usual him wanting a baby and Ikkaku not wanting a baby fight. The fifth seat was so lost in thought that he had completely forgotten that Yachiru was even around until she hit him over the head with a hairbrush.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me, Feathers?" She gives him an irritated look as she places her hands on her hips, "I said it was about time for a snack. Aren't you ready to eat cookies and drink milk with me?"

Yumichika rubs his head where he'd been attacked with the hairbrush and nods, "Sure, we can have cookies if you want." He stands up and only realizes that his hair is in pigtails when he catches his reflection in a nearby mirror. He begins pulling the pigtails down as he looks around the room for his shoes.

"Why're you so distracted today anyway? Did you and Baldy get in another fight?" She absentmindedly brushes her pink hair as she awaits his answer.

He snatches the brush out of her hand and begins brushing his own hair, "What do you mean 'again'?" He shoots her an offended look as he feels the brush slide through the tangles she's created by putting his hair up.

"You and Baldy are always fighting about something." She slides her small feet into her own shoes and bends at the knees to examine a bug crawling across the floor, "Kenny says you fight cause you're in love and that's the only way two boys can be in love in public cause they have to kiss in private…is that true?"

Yumichika lets out a derisive scoff, "For one, we do not fight all the time and secondly, I can kiss Ikkaku or anyone else anywhere I want to. Besides, you shouldn't be asking questions like that."

She pokes the bug a few times with her finger before looking up at him, "Why not? I thought you and Baldy were boyfriends just like Byakushi and Pineapple Head? They never kiss in public either, but I seen em arguing in whispers a lot."

"I don't want to talk about them and their perfect little family with their perfect little baby." Yumichika realizes what he said too late and covers his mouth with his hand, "Don't tell them I said that?"

Yachiru shrugs like she couldn't care less about Byakuya and Renji's baby, "Byakushi doesn't let me play with his baby all the time like I wanna…when are you and Baldy gonna have a baby that I can play with all the time?"

Yumichika's breath catches in his throat at her words and he swallows a few times to wet his throat, "It's rude to ask a couple when they are planning to have a baby. You never know that particular couple's situation." She gives him a confused look, but before she can ask any more questions, he takes her hand, "Come now…I thought we were going to eat cookies and drink milk."

A huge smile spreads across her face, "Oh yeah, what are we waiting for?!"

The fifth seat breathes a sigh of relief at having shifted her train of thought and willingly goes with her to get the desired snack.

After seeing the lieutenant back to the captain's quarters, Yumichika decides to make a stop at Rangiku's quarters. She should be done pretending to work by now and he really needed some advice as to what he needed to do to keep Ikkaku from having sex with him for seven days. He knocks on the door and within a few seconds the busty blonde answer the door, "Oh, Yumichika…is everything alright you seem kind of down?"

Yumichika lets out a worried sigh, "I need to talk to you about something I did…something really, really stupid."

She gives him a curious look, but moves aside and allows him to enter her room, "Well, I'm anxious to hear it."

The fifth seat heavily sits down in the nearest chair and lets his shoulders slump a bit as he contemplates how to begin his discussion, "Okay, you remember our discussion yesterday, correct?"

She nods, "Of course I do. We talked about all that baby stuff and how you couldn't get Ikkaku to listen."

"Right." He sits up a bit straighter as he speaks his next words, "Well, I had decided on my walk home that I would tell him how I felt before we went to bed and if it resulted in a fight then so be it, but when I got home he wasn't there yet. He was out training the last of the new guys for a few more hours and I was left alone with my thoughts. Just me there alone thinking about babies and families and all that stuff." He lowers his gaze down to his lap and swallows down his guilt before continuing, "So, I opened the lozenge and…I ate it."

A shocked gasp can be heard from Rangiku's side of the room as she brings her hands up to her mouth, "You didn't?! Yumichika, how could you do that without even telling Ikkaku?!"

"I told you it was stupid!" He stands up and runs his hand through his raven locks nervously, "I regretted it a soon as the whole thing dissolved, but what was I supposed to do at that point?"

"What happened after that?" She gives him a concerned look, "The two of you didn't…you know… when he finally came back did you?"

"No, thankfully he was too tired to even think about that last night, but this morning I had to fight him off me." Yumichika lets out a relieved sigh at the memory of that morning, "I managed to make excuses and we didn't have sex this morning either, but the potency of the lozenge lasts for seven days! How am I going to keep from having sex with Ikkaku for seven days?!"

"Okay, okay…calm down." The tenth lieutenant begins pacing the room with her hands on her hips, "We'll think of something."

"I think this lozenge has an aphrodisiac effect too…you know to make sure you do it and make a baby." He rubs his palms together anxiously, "He touched me this morning and I've never felt more attracted to him than I did at that moment and I had to convince myself not to give in." He lets out a worried groan as he finds the chair again and sits down, "What am I going to do? If he pushes hard enough I know I'll give in."

Rangiku continues pacing as she tries to think of a solution, "Have you thought about just telling him you took the lozenge? Maybe if he knew what was going on then you guys could use some kind of birth control for seven days?"

Yumichika shakes his head, "I can't do that, Rangiku. He would never stop yelling at me and he would always question whether or not I had ingested one for the rest of our existence. You have to help me think of a way to hold him off, please!"

She nods and figures it will do no good to try and convince Yumichika to come clean about what he'd done, "First of all, we have to think of a way to keep him from wanting to have sex with you. If we can stop him from coming onto you then maybe that will keep your hormones in check too."

The dark haired shinigami tries to think of a solution himself, but his emotions are just too amped up to think straight and he ends up just watching Rangiku pace the room until he can't stand the tension of the situation anymore, "Rangiku, please tell me you've thought of something? I can't take this anymore!"

She stops her pacing and finally looks him in the eyes, "You'll have to do your best to keep him at bay tonight and make sure your willpower doesn't falter, but tomorrow during training you could 'pull a muscle' in your groin, back, or leg…any body part that would make having sex feel terrible. Tell him that you just can't risk hurting it worse because you don't want to upset the captain by missing squad duty. That should work until it's safe for you to have sex again."

Yumichika jumps up from the chair and wraps her in a tight hug, "Oh, Rangiku…you are a genius! Thank you so much for the help!"

When he releases her from the hug she gives him a stern look, "Promise me you won't do anything this stupid again if you manage to pull this off."

"I promise." He smoothes his clothes down and makes sure his hair looks okay before standing up straight, "I do need to talk to Ikkaku about all this baby stuff one day though. So maybe the next time I decide to take one of those lozenges it will be because we both agreed to have a baby."

She gives him a hopeful smile, "I really hope that happens for you, but until then you need to stop being so rash. You almost gave me a heart attack today."

He smiles for a second, but then his expression changes to one of worry, "What time is it?" He looks out the window and sees that the sun is starting to go down, "Shit! I've got to get home. I promised Ikkaku I would give him a blow job."

Before Rangiku can comment on the fifth seat's statement, he leaves the room and flash steps back to his and Ikkaku's quarters. He knows immediately that his lover is inside and prays to whatever god is listening that Ikkaku will be satisfied with just a blow job.

TBC…

* * *

**Okay, there ya go! Until next time!**


	3. But, Can't We Just Have Sex?

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Okay, I am back with chapter 3. It's a bit short, but until this fic gets in full swing then I'm afraid the chapters will be a bit on the short side. Anyway, special thanks: EzraTheBlue for reviewing, waterdragon3 for following, Angel1028 for reviewing, ytygr for following, Nazlyn101 for following, and Cole D. Xandria for faving and following.  
**

**Also, if you haven't checked out EzraTheBlue's IkkaYumi fic yet then you totally should! It's called "A Fight For What's Worth It."**

* * *

When Yumichika finally walks into the room, he doesn't see Ikkaku anywhere, but he does hear shuffling noises and water running in the bathroom. He really hoped that Ikkaku would be too tired to want anything sexual, but he had promised his lover a blowjob and he couldn't very well back out. Yumichika just hopes that his own hormones don't get the best of him and it ends up just being a blow job and not anything else. He lets out a worried sigh as he kicks his shoes off at the door and quickly changes into something other than his shinigami's robes. He then walks into the kitchen to decide what they should have for supper.

His mind wasn't really on supper and he found himself just staring into the open pantry, but not really paying attention to anything on the shelves. In fact, his mind was racing and even worse…so was his pulse. Just knowing that Ikkaku was in the bathroom…probably naked…turned him on more than it should have and all sorts of dirty thoughts played through his head. The only thing that stops his naughty thoughts is the feeling of strong arms wrapping around his waist from behind.

The fifth seat jumps in shock and slams the pantry doors on accident causing a loud bang to sound throughout the room, "Ikkaku! You scared the shit out of me! Since when are you so sneaky?"

"Since when are ya so jumpy?" He tightens his hold around the dark haired man's waist as he brings his lips down to press against Yumichika's slender neck, "What were ya thinking so hard about anyway?"

Yumichika tries to even his breathing and slow his racing heartbeat down, but feeling Ikkaku's lips kissing his neck and feeling the obvious press of his lover's erection against his backside made it impossible to calm down, "I was just trying to decide on something for dinner."

Ikkaku lifts his lips from Yumichika's pale skin only long enough to switch to the other side where he resumes his kisses, "Forget dinner…I ain't hungry fer food right now, babe."

A shiver tingles down the fifth seat's spine and a moan escapes his lips as he feels Ikkaku's teeth nibble on the sensitive skin of his neck, "B-But, you will be later and…and I'll need to have something…prepared."

"I want ya so bad right now." The third seat allows his tongue to slip out and caress its way up Yumichika's neck until his mouth closes around the smaller man's ear lobe. Ikkaku listens to his lover's breathing hitch as he sucks on the piece of flesh for a moment. He then releases Yumichika's ear lobe to speak again, "Can't ya tell how much I want ya?"

Yumichika then feels his lover grind his hardened cock against his ass and for the first time since Ikkaku entered the kitchen does Yumichika turn his head to get a look at the bald man behind him, "Ikkaku, are you naked?"

"Hell yes, I'm naked!" He finally releases his hold on Yumichika's waist and spins his lover around to face him, "I thought I was gonna get a blow job! You said that…remember? You said that this morning."

Yumichika nods considering his mouth won't form words after he gets a good look at his lover standing nude in front of him. He'd seen Ikkaku naked so many times that it was ridiculous, but for some reason he found his bald lover extra appealing at the moment and finds himself stifling a groan as he takes a lingering look at Ikkaku's extremely hard, large cock, "I-I do remember saying that, Ikkaku." The smaller man finally removes his gaze from the third seat's cock and shakes his head from side to side to clear his brain of the sex fog that had taken over his mind, "I said I would and I will. How about you go make yourself comfy and I'll be right there."

A skeptical expression appears on Ikkaku's face, "You aren't gonna decide on dinner while I wait are ya?"

"No, I just want you to be as comfortable as possible." He gives his lover a sweet smile and bats his eyelashes a few times, "Don't you want to be comfortable, baby?"

"At this point, I don't give a fuck where I am as long as it's with you." He leans in and grabs Yumichika in his arms again before crushing his lips down roughly against the smaller man's lips.

Yumichika finds himself helpless as he melts into the embrace and reciprocates the kiss by kissing back just a fiercely. His hormones were so out of control and he didn't know what he was going to do. He couldn't cave on the first day! How in the hell was he going to make it seven days like this?! His thoughts are soon interrupted by the feeling of Ikkaku's eager tongue slipping into his mouth. The fifth seat lets out a whimper as his lover's tongue plunders every inch of the inside of his mouth.

When Ikkaku eventually pulls away both men are having trouble steadying their ragged breathing, "I've been thinkin' about ya all day." He then slides his hands down to grip both of Yumichika's ass cheeks tightly in his hands. He smiles when he hears the tiny squeak that escapes his lover's throat, "Goddamn, yer beautiful, Yumi."

Yumichika smiles at hearing Ikkaku's words. He knew his lover was horny, but he also knew he meant that from the bottom of his heart, "You always know how to get me going don't you?" The fifth seat places his hands on Ikkaku's chest and rubs his palm across the smooth skin there, "How about you let go of me and let me get this party started?"

Ikkaku squeezes the supple flesh in his hands once more before releasing his hold on his petite lover, "Are ya sure we can't just have sex?"

Yumichika places a slim finger over Ikkaku's lips, "Shhh, I'm about to blow your mind, baby. Just lean back and enjoy it."

The dark haired shinigami pushes lightly on his lover's chest making the bald man's back bump against the wall behind him. Yumichika then gives Ikkaku a devious grin right before sinking to his knees on the kitchen floor. There was almost nothing more unsanitary than giving a blow job in the kitchen, but if this is what it took to keep Ikkaku from getting him pregnant then this is what he would have to do and the kitchen could be sanitized later. The fifth seat makes himself as comfortable as he can in his kneeling position and looks up from under his eyelashes to catch Ikkaku's eyes. Neither man speaks, but Ikkaku nods his head as if giving his lover permission to begin.

Yumichika grasps the third seat's hard, pulsing cock in his delicate hand and softly strokes the sensitive skin as his hand moves up and down the thick shaft. His violet eyes never leave his lover's gaze as he caresses his cheek against the warmth of Ikkaku's length. The gentle touch causes Ikkaku to shiver slightly, "Yer such a tease, babe…but, I love it."

A proud smile forms on Yumichika's face at hearing his lover's words, "I know you do." While still gripping the base of Ikkaku's shaft, the fifth seat pulls back enough to place a soft kiss right on the tip of his lover's weeping prick before opening his lips to envelope the swollen head into the wet warmth of his mouth. He hears a low groan leave Ikkaku's throat as he slides his mouth farther down the bald man's length allowing each inch to slip further into his mouth.

Ikkaku rests his head against the cool surface of the wall behind him as he revels in the feeling of his lover's hot, slick mouth wrapped around his aching cock. Yumichika then begins sliding his mouth back up the shaft slowly and then back down before establishing a pace that wasn't too fast but certainly wasn't too slow for his lover's liking. The third seat's large hands then leave the wall where they had been resting and find a new resting place on Yumichika's head where his finger's twist into the dark locks of hair belonging to his lover, "Ah! Shit, Yumi…that…that feels so fuckin'…good."

As Yumichika continues pleasuring his partner the only thought in his mind is getting Ikkaku off fast enough for the bald man not to change his mind and want to have sex instead, but not fast enough to seem suspicious. The fifth seat only slows the bobbing movements of his head when he feels Ikkaku's hips buck slightly causing the man's cock to slide deeper into his mouth. Yumichika allows Ikkaku to buck his hips a few times before pulling his mouth back and twirling his tongue around the tip before swallowing the entire length one more.

Hearing Ikkaku's pleasured moans and groans and feeling the third seat's fingers in his hair only made him want Ikkaku even more, but he had to refrain from diving onto the futon and allowing his lover to take him hard and fast like he wanted him to. Instead, Yumichika manages to work his underclothes down with his free hand and grips his own cock to at least help himself find a release all the while still being able to get Ikkaku off. The fifth seat caresses his own erection coercing a small moan to leave his own throat which in turn made Ikkaku groan loudly at the feeling of the vibrations tingling along his very sensitive flesh.

"Son of a bitch…ah!...Yu-Yumi, I'm gonna…I'm cum soon." Ikkaku's grip tightens in his lover's hair as his hips buck a bit harder than before. Being so wrapped up in his own pleasure, the third seat still doesn't notice his lover's hand pumping his own cock in time with the bobbing of his head.

Yumichika lets out a few more whimpered groans at the feeling of his own touch, the vibrations perpetuating Ikkaku's own climax and with a few more bucks of the bald man's hips Ikkaku cums with a violent shudder as his hands scrabble for purchase on the slick strands of Yumichika's hair. Yumichika swallows every bit of what he's given, never allowing his own hand to stop moving along his length. He pulls his mouth away from the third seat's cock as he continues to pleasure himself.

Ikkaku sinks to the floor and opens his eyes briefly to glimpse Yumichika furiously pumping his own cock. When the fifth seat's eyes meet his, the smaller man cums with a soft cry of Ikkaku's name feeling his climax seep through his fingers before dripping to the kitchen floor. Yumichika's body suddenly seems boneless as he sprawls out on the kitchen floor and before long he feels Ikkaku's warmth as the bald shinigami lies down beside him.

They are both quiet for a long time and when Ikkaku breaks the silence his voice seems too loud in the small kitchen, "I still don't understand why we didn't just have sex."

Yumichika smiles and chuckles as he rolls closer to his lover, "It doesn't always have to be sex to be pleasurable does it?"

"No, but I don't get it…I coulda helped ya get off if ya had let me." He wraps his muscular arms around Yumichika's slender frame and takes in his lover's scent.

The fifth seat snuggles into the embrace before lazily kissing Ikkaku on the cheek, "I know you could have, but sometimes I just want to do something for you."

Ikkaku only grunts in response and tightens his embrace, "Ya know…ya don't have to cook dinner on my account. I ain't even really that hungry."

"Are you sure?" He gives Ikkaku a concerned look, "You've been working hard all week and we just used a lot of energy. I don't mind."

"Nah, I think I'd rather go have a few drinks." He releases his hold on Yumichika and sits up, "Ya wanna go with me?"

Yumichika sits up as well and adjusts his clothes as best as he can. He actually did want to go out for drinks with Ikkaku, but he wasn't sure if alcohol would hurt him after consuming the lozenge and he couldn't risk having too much to drink and end up sleeping with Ikkaku later in the night, "Actually, I'm kind of tired…and I need to clean up this kitchen."

"Are ya sure?" He looks around the kitchen and aside from their most recent mess it really wasn't that dirty, "We can do that later."

Yumichika stands up and pulls his underclothes back on before addressing his still naked lover, "It's fine if you go. I don't mind at all."

Ikkaku stands up and stretches making the sound of joints cracking fill the kitchen, "Well, if yer sure then I'm gonna get dressed and head out." Yumichika nods just as Ikkaku pulls him into another embrace. The third seat then takes a moment to inhale his lover's scent, "Have ya been using anythin' different, Yumi?"

A confused expression plays across the dark haired man's face as Ikkaku pulls away, "Different? What do you mean?"

"Ya know…like have ya changed soap or perfume or somethin'?" He scratches the back of his head as a puzzled look comes to his own face, "Ya just smell really fuckin' good today."

A flattered blush spreads across the fifth seat's cheeks as he shakes his head, "No, I've been using the same products as always. I guess I just naturally smell good."

An evil grin appears on Ikkaku's face, "Are ya sure we can't have sex really quick before I go?"

Yumichika crosses his arms over his chest as a stern gleam appears in his eyes, "Absolutely not! I have got to get this kitchen cleaned up. Now, get dressed already."

"Yeah, yeah." Ikkaku chuckles before leaving the room to get dressed.

After Ikkaku leaves, Yumichika cleans the kitchen and decides to get a bath. With Ikkaku gone, he could relax and take as long of a bath as he wanted to without his partner barging in every five seconds to ask him something. Being alone gave him plenty of time to think which ruined his bath just slightly. His thoughts kept revolving around having a baby just as they had been for a while. He knew he should tell Ikkaku what he'd done and maybe even convince him that it was a good idea to take advantage of the situation, but he knew Ikkaku would need more than seven days to be convinced.

The fifth seat lets out a sigh as he sinks down into the warm water of the bath. He always thought that Ikkaku was with him on everything. Usually they didn't even have to discuss things because they pretty much always knew what the other one wanted, but this baby situation was different. For once, Yumichika had no clue how to approach his lover with his worries and wants.

He'd just have to hold out for six more days and Ikkaku would never know what he'd almost done. Six days wouldn't be so bad…right?

TBC…

* * *

**Okay, let me know what ya think! I love reviews and they help me figure out what you liked and what you didn't like. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Just a Little Favor

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Here is chapter 4 for all you fine readers. I have been on vacation which is why I haven't updated before now. I am so excited that so many people are into this fic! Thank you so much to everyone who is supporting this fic! Special thanks: Nazlyn for reviewing, blood87 for reviewing, Jazzybella for reviewing, Angel 1028 for reviewing, EzraTheBlue for reviewing, foxywolf4321 for following, Darkknight4ever for faving and following, pinball62 for following, 5815chacha for following, Takamatsu for faving, Kyomesina for faving and following, BloodFireAlchEMisT for faving and following, a guest for reviewing, Italy X Canada for faving, MzKrazyYugiGirl for faving, EverSoLovin for faving and following, Chybub1198 for faving and following, for reviewing and following, ytyger for faving, CherryFlamingo for faving, following, and reviewing, for reviewing, and andywriter for following!  
**

**Some of those thanks were for my other two mpreg fics, but most were for this one! You guys are awesome!**

* * *

Yumichika vaguely remembered Ikkaku stumbling in last night after going out drinking, but considering the third seat only made it to the couch where he crashed, he didn't manage to pull Yumichika out of sleep too badly. Now, the fifth seat finds himself in the futon alone and can't sense his lover's presence anywhere in the house. The captain must have come by early and given Ikkaku a job to do. That's the only reason why Ikkaku wouldn't still be sleeping after a night out drinking. The dark haired shinigami lets out a sigh, he hated that he wouldn't even get to see Ikkaku or have breakfast with him, but he was secretly glad that he wasn't around. With Ikkaku gone for the morning, Yumichika wouldn't have to exhaust himself with ways to keep the third seat from having sex with him. He had successfully managed to get day one of operation no sex over with, but he really didn't know how much longer he could refuse Ikkaku's advances.

The fifth seat groans as he sits up in the futon. He had a few hours before squad duty and without Ikkaku around to distract him, he could get a few things done around their room that he'd been needing to get done. Yumichika makes his way to the bathroom and as soon as he gets a good look at himself in the mirror he completely forgets about the things he needs to do and begins combing his fingers through his hair, "Ughh, how long has it been since I conditioned my hair?! It looks like a complete mess." Anything else on the to-do list would simply have to wait as Yumichika begins opening cabinets and drawers in the bathroom gathering all the equipment he would need for his hair.

After several minutes of mixing and applying, Yumichika finally had the conditioner setting in his hair. Now all he had to do was wait until the appropriate time to wash it out. The bonus was, he still had time to clean while the conditioner did its job. The fifth seat wraps his hair to prevent the conditioner from getting all over the place and exits the bathroom. Yumichika takes one step out of the bathroom and slams into something warm and hard and look up to see Ikkaku, "Ah! Ikkaku, what are you doing here?!"

Ikkaku absentmindedly rubs his own chest where his lover had smacked into him and grins, "Last I checked, I do live here."

The dark haired man then remembers his hair is all wrapped up and his eyes widen as he retreats quickly back into the bathroom, "You weren't supposed to see me like this!"

Ikkaku rolls his eyes as he places his hand on the bathroom door handle, "What's the big deal, Yumi? Ya look great as always." He opens the door to reveal Yumichika looking embarrassed with his arms crossed over his chest angrily, "Why don'tcha come outta there and have lunch with me?"

Yumichika nods and emerges from the bathroom once again. Ikkaku had already seen him so the damage had been done and there was no use in hiding in the bathroom for the few hours he had left before squad duty, "Where were you this morning anyway?"

"The lieutenant barged in here at the butt crack of dawn and dragged me out to the fuckin' candy store to help her carry all her purchases." He shakes his head, "Captain didn't wanna be bothered with her so she came and got me I guess." He chuckles softly, "Shit was I hung over too."

"What time did you come in last night?" Yumichika examines his nails and decides that the next time he had a chance his nails were on the check list of things to be done, "You were very quiet coming in."

"I don't fucking know what time it was." He laughs loudly, "Hell, I was plastered…I'm surprised I found my way back here to be honest." The bald shinigami gives his lover a once over and a side-ways grin erupts on his face, "But, ya know…I wanted to join ya in the futon when I got home and show ya how much I appreciated that blow job yesterday."

Yumichika looks up from his nails to see that Ikkaku was now standing dangerously close to him, "Um…is that so?" The smaller man lets out nervous laughter, "That's nice of you, but I was asleep and all that. It's the thought that counts right?"

Yumichika attempts to take a step back, but Ikkaku's large hands grip his hips and pull him in until his body is flush with the third seats own body, "Maybe, but the thought don't feel nearly as fuckin' good as the real thing now does it?"

The fifth seat swallows nervously as he manages to twist himself out of Ikkaku's grasp, "Th-that's true…but, I'll have to wash this conditioner out in about ten minutes and then I need to get ready for squad duty."

A predatory gleam sparkles in the bald man's eyes as he slowly makes his way toward Yumichika who is steadily backing toward the bathroom, "There's a lot we could do in ten minutes ya know."

Yumichika can feel his pulse quicken as he watches his lover move across the room. He desperately wanted what Ikkaku was offering, but he knew that it would be a huge mistake if he ended up pregnant, "We can't Ikkaku…conditioner would get everywhere and then I'd be late for squad duty and you wouldn't have time for lunch."

Yumichika's back then bumps against the closed bathroom door giving Ikkaku enough time to close the distance between them and place his hands on either side of the fifth seats head, "I don't give a flyin' fuck about lunch right now. Do ya realize how badly I want ya right now? I haven't been able to think about nothin' but you fer the last few days. Yer scent follows me everywhere I go and the thought of fuckin' ya into next week has just takin' over my mind."

The petite shinigami slides his hands along the bathroom door trying to find the handle and just as Ikkaku's lips begin their descent to his, he finds it and opens the door, "Can't let this conditioner sit for much longer, baby." He slips into the bathroom, successfully closing and locking the door before his lover has the chance to barge in, "We can discuss this after squad duty, okay."

Ikkaku slams his fist against the bathroom door and lets out a frustrated sigh, "Come on, Yumi! Just a quickie, please!"

"I can't hear you with this water running!" The raven haired man unwraps his hair and begins rinsing the conditioner out of his hair. He hated denying his lover and hoped Ikkaku wouldn't be too mad at him later. Yumichika remains in the bathroom well after his hair is rinsed and fixed for the day until he's certain he can no longer sense his lover's reiatsu in the room. He then emerges from the bathroom and gets a quick bite to eat before dressing and heading out to squad duty. He knew he would definitely have to fake an injury like he and Rangiku had talked about or Ikkaku would be 'fucking him into next week' as the third seat so eloquently put it.

Yumichika managed to successfully avoid Ikkaku the rest of the day. In fact, he had no idea where Captain Zaraki had stationed him for the day and that was just fine with him. The fifth seat got horny just thinking about Ikkaku and it was best if he avoided being around him as much as possible. The lozenge was most certainly having an aphrodisiac affect on him and therefore having the same affect on Ikkaku. Squad duty was almost over and Yumichika knew he could pretend to have an injury with no problem, but Ikkaku would want proof. Ikkaku would need to see a bruise or some swelling. The fifth seat ponders on what he should do as he begins the journey back to his and Ikkaku's quarters.

He is only pulled from his thoughts by the sound of someone calling his name. He looks up to see Shuhei waving, "Hey, what's up, Ayasegawa?"

A smile lifts the corners of Yumichika's mouth as the light bulb flickers on in his brain, "Lieutenant Hisagi, I am so glad that I ran into you."

Shuhei stops walking and allows Yumichika a moment to catch up with him, "Yeah, what's going on?"

"I need you to do me a big favor…but, I don't want you to ask any questions." He gives Shuhei his best smile and tries to look as cute as possible after a whole day of squad duty out in the sun, "Can you do me a favor?"

The ninth lieutenant gives Yumichika a skeptical look, "Um…I suppose I can help you out. So what is it you need?"

"I need you to hit me as hard as you can right here." The violet eyed shinigami then points to his upper thigh with his finger, "You think you can do that without hitting me in my private parts?"

Shuhei's eyes widen as he looks from the fifth seat's thigh and back up to his face, "Are you being serious right now?!"

Yumichika lets out an exasperated sound as he gives the younger man a look of impatience, "Well, of course I'm being serious. Now, can you help me out or not?"

"I can't do that!" The tattooed lieutenant backs away from Yumichika a few steps while shaking his head, "That's insane! Why in Soul Society would you want me to do that for anyway?!"

Yumichika sighs, "I thought I told you not ask any questions." He closes the small gap between them and stands with his right leg slightly away from his body, "I haven't got all day…kick me and get it over with. I won't tell anyone that you did it."

A nervous expression appears on the ninth lieutenant's face as he once again glances down at Yumichika's extended leg, "I'm pretty sure this is against all the rules and besides if Ikkaku finds out I kicked you then I'll just be a stain on the surface of Seireitei."

The older shinigami rolls his eyes and stomps his foot in aggravation, "Ikkaku will never know because I'm going to tell him it happened during squad training. Now get on with it!"

"Are you and Ikkaku fighting or something?" A horrified expression appears on the lieutenant's tattooed face, "Or is this some kind of weird fetish that you guys get off on when you're doing some kinky shit?"

"Fetish?" Yumichika shakes his head, "Hell no! I just need you to kick me and if you won't do it then I'll find someone who will."

Shuhei gulps audibly before giving Yumichika a curious look, "But, why? I don't understand what's going on?"

"You don't need to know anything." Yumichika lets out a sigh, "In fact, the less you know the better off you are." When Shuhei doesn't make a move to strike him, the fifth seat lets out an irritated groan, "Ughh, I tell you what…if you do me this favor then I will do your paperwork for a month. How's that sound?"

Shuhei contemplates the older man's words for a moment before finally nodding, "Okay, but I'll only do this if we can go somewhere that no one will see us and you have to promise not to tell anyone that it was me who hit you."

Yumichika waves his hand in front of his face in a gesture of indifference, "Yeah, sure…whatever you want. Now, lead the way."

After finding somewhere private and several more minutes of Shuhei reciting what a bad idea this all was, the deed is finally done. Yumichika got the nice big bruise he wanted and Shuhei was actively having a panic attack about it, "Holy shit! I can't believe I just did that! What do I need to do?! Are you gonna be okay?! I shouldn't have done that!"

Yumichika rubs his leg and uses just enough kido to heal himself up enough to stand back up on his own, "Will you be quiet?! You did a perfect job." He props himself up against a nearby wall before looking at the frantic shinigami next to him, "Now, help me back to my quarters…it'll look more painful that way."

Shuhei nods and slings one of Yumichika's arms over his shoulder, "And you're sure Ikkaku won't know I had anything to do with this?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Yumichika has to physically refrain from rolling his eyes again, "Now, stop being so spastic and help me home before he comes looking for me."

Shuhei nods, "Right."

As the two men make their way to the quarters that Yumichika shared with Ikkaku they only encounter one person. Rangiku rushes across the grass with her hands over her mouth, "Oh my goodness! Honey, what happened?!"

Shuhei looks terrified that someone might figure out what he did, but Yumichika answers the concern with nonchalance, "Oh, it's no big deal. Shuhei kicked me real hard and now he's helping me home."

The ninth lieutenant's mouth drops open, "Hey! I thought you said you weren't going to tell anyone what I did?!"

Rangiku shoots her fellow lieutenant an appalled look, "You kicked him?! Why in Soul Society would you do that?!"

Before Shuhei can explain himself, Yumichika breaks into the conversation, "I asked him to do it." When he catches Rangiku's confused expression he quickly explains, "You remember our plan right…the one where I get injured during a training exercise?"

Her confused look makes way for a knowing expression, "Oh! You wanted to make it look real! That was a really good idea."

Shuhei looks back and forth between the two of them with a very puzzled expression on his face, "Wait! What?! You two are in on this?! What the hell is going on here?!"

Yumichika shakes his head in disbelief, "Maybe it is my imagination, but I seem to recall telling you not to ask questions, dear."

Before Shuhei can respond, Rangiku interjects, "The less you know that better, sweetie." She then looks at the fifth seat, "You better hurry home. It's getting late and Ikkaku will come looking for you."

Yumichika nods, "Yes, I know." He looks at the bewildered lieutenant beside him, "Let's go then." Shuhei found it best not to argue at this point and bids Rangiku goodbye as he helps Yumichika walk the rest of the way to his quarters.

Finally, the two shinigami reach their destination where Ikkaku meets them at the door, "Yumi, where the fuck have ya…what the fuck happened to ya?!"

Yumichika tries to make his face look as pained as he possible can while at the same time appearing to be bored with the whole situation, "Oh, it's no big deal. I just had a little accident during training duty today. I just wasn't paying attention and this is what happened." He glances at Shuhei before turning back to his lover, "Shuhei came along and saw me limping and offered his help. Isn't that right, Shuhei?"

Ikkaku looks toward Shuhei for the first time making the ninth lieutenant flinch, "Uh…right! I just saw him already like this and helped him here cause I most definitely didn't have anything to do with it."

Yumichika stomps the younger man's foot to get him to shut up and lets out a chuckle, "Ha, ha…of course you didn't have anything to do with it. How could you when it happened at the Squad Eleven training field?" The petite shinigami looks from Ikkaku to Shuhei to make sure Ikkaku was buying all this, "Well, I'm here now…so you can run along. Thanks for the help, but Ikkaku can help me from here." Shuhei only nods and wastes no time in leaving.

Ikkaku picks his lover up and brings him into the room, "The fuck was his problem?"

"No idea." Ikkaku then deposits the fifth seat on the futon before Yumichika speaks again, "I just can't believe I went and got myself injured…and after I intended to spend the rest of the evening in bed with you."

Ikkaku pulls Yumichika's pants down to reveal the purple, swollen bruise and shakes his head, "You ain't doin' nothin' but resting until this looks better." The third seat stands up, "I'm gonna go get some ice fer that. I'll be right back."

"Thank you, baby." Yumichika watches as Ikkaku leaves the room and then breathes a sigh of relief knowing that he'd once again managed to avoid a night of sex.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks for reading! **


	5. Confusion

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Sorry it has taken me so long to update this fic! I feel so ashamed of myself, but I've been trying to find another job and I've been interviewing all while still working at my current job. Sorry so sorry! Anyway, here is the next installment.**

**Special thanks time: EzraTheBlue for reviewing, Nazlyn101 for reviewing, .9279 for faving, for reviewing, blood87 for reviewing, kyuumihaira for faving, following, nd reviewing, Rosenmejer for faving and following, sweet angel love music for faving, NamineLily for faving, KingdomHeartsGirl16695 for faving anf following, ScarletIndifference for faving and following, Kalix-Regulus for faving and following, writter4ever for following, I've-got-a-thing-4-sephy for following, and screenacream for following. Thank you so much for the support!  
**

**Also if you haven't checked out EzraTheBlue's IkkaYumi mpreg fic yet then you really should. It is awesome and I think there is only one chapter left. The name of that one is Fighting For What's Worth It. It is so good...I promise...I wouldn't steer you wrong on this one. Alos, if there are any similarities between mine and that one it is purely coincidence. We did not discuss our story plans with each other or anything.**

**So get to reading I guess. Thanks again for reading!**

* * *

After Yumichika's 'accident', Ikkaku did everything he could to make sure the fifth seat was comfortable. In fact, Ikkaku was so helpful that it took a little getting used to. Yumichika had no idea his lover could be so thoughtful and attending. Needless, to say Yumichika had painfully managed another day without having sex with Ikkaku. Now, if he could milk his injury for a few more days he would be in the clear.

"Are ya sure yer gonna be okay?" Ikkaku once again fluffs up Yumichika's pillow before joining him on the futon.

Yumichika felt a slight pang of guilt at having deceived his lover, but only a slight pang. He frowns as he moves his leg a bit, "Oh, I'm sure it will be just fine in a few days."

Ikkaku once again looks at the large purple bruise staining his lover's usually perfect skin, "How long is a few days?"

"Oh, you know…three or four…I can still go to squad duty, but nothing too strenuous." Yumichika tries his best not to look at the disappointed look on the third seat's face, "Just to be safe."

"Three or four days!" Ikkaku falls back onto his own pillow and groans, "Ya really think it'll take that long to heal up?"

Yumichika looks down at the bruise, "Well…yeah. Just look how swollen it is." The raven haired shinigami begins to tire of the conversation and knew if it continued Ikkaku would ask when they could have sex again, "I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to try and get some rest."

A very pouty expression appears on the bald man's face, but he doesn't argue with Yumichika any longer, "Yeah, I guess I'm kinda tired too."

Yumichika attempts to make himself comfortable, but his leg really did hurt and it was extremely difficult to get situated. Ikkaku however, had no trouble falling asleep. In the quiet of the room, Yumichika wishes he had just come clean with Ikkaku about the whole mess, but he felt like it was too late for the truth now.

The next morning, Yumichika could tell that his leg was going to give him problems. He didn't have to try and remember to limp. His leg was so sore that he didn't even want to get out of the futon, but just like the night before, Ikkaku helped him up and made sure he had everything he needed. In fact, both men were dressed on time and headed for breakfast before squad duty started.

Yumichika still felt a little bad about what he'd done, but he was also relieved that he didn't have to fight Ikkaku off him before squad duty. The fifth seat would be lying though if he said he wasn't incredibly horny. It was so bad that all he thought about was sex. In fact, his being horny was far more bothersome than his hurt leg. He'd just have to ignore it or either take care of it when he was alone. He knew Ikkaku was feeling the same way. To everyone else, the third seat seemed his usual self, but Yumichika could tell how incredibly anxious his lover was.

The fifth seat sighs and pushes his tray away from him, "I'm done."

"Done?!" Ikkaku begins snatching left-over food from Yumichika's tray, "Ya barely ate anything."

Yumichika looks down at his tray that is now empty thanks to Ikkaku, "I suppose I'm in too much pain to eat."

Ikkaku frowns as he picks up his and Yumichika's tray, "Are ya sure ya should be goin' to squad duty today?"

The petite man waves Ikkaku's concern away, "Of course I should go…it would be silly to miss squad duty. I'll be fine." Ikkaku shrugs his shoulders and runs off to return their trays. After breakfast, the two of them split up to take on the various assignments the Captain had given them for the day.

Yumichika basically did paperwork and looked after the lieutenant considering how swollen his leg was. He found himself daydreaming mostly about what it would be like if he and Ikkaku ever actually had a baby one day. He wished he could just stop wanting a baby. If he didn't want one any more then that would solve all his problems, but things were never that simple. The fifth seat lets out a sigh and looks at the clock. It was well past time for him to be off duty.

He stands up and stretches before stacking the papers in a neat pile. His leg was beginning to feel better already which was a good thing and a bad thing. He was tired of his leg aching, but he knew if it healed too quickly he would be right back in the same predicament of trying not to have sex with Ikkaku. He lets out another sigh and limps his way out of the office and into the sunshine. He knew he should head back to his own room, but he'd been cooped up all day and really needed to talk to someone who knew what was going on.

He very slowly makes his way to Rangiku's quarters and as a result his leg is aching even worse than before from all the walking. Before he can knock, the busty squad ten lieutenant opens the door, "Yumichika, why are you here so late and why are you so sweaty?"

"It wasn't late when I started this way, but with my leg hurt it took a bit longer than expected." He brushes a sweaty strand of hair off his forehead, "Plus, it's like 200 degrees out here. Can I come in?"

"Of course, sweetie." She steps aside and he limps into the room. She shuts the door behind them and gestures for him to have a seat which he gladly does, "I didn't think your leg was that bad. You know you were only supposed to hurt it enough to look believable."

Yumichika sinks down into the chair and lets out a relieved sigh at finally being able to sit down, "Don't you think I know that? It didn't seem so bad yesterday. It doesn't matter though because it's working. Ikkaku hasn't even mentioned sex once since I hurt my leg."

She sits down in a chair across from him and looks at his conflicting expression of relief and anxiety, "That's a good thing, right? That is what you wanted isn't it?"

He flops his head back against the chair back and lets his body go boneless as he once again lets out a sigh, "It is, but…but, I'm so horny I can't think about anything else. Sometimes I just want to give in to his advances and get it over with."

"Don't you dare do that, Yumichika!" She gives him a stern look, "You can do this. It'll only be for a few more days and then things will go back to normal."

He sits up a bit straighter in the chair, "Easy for you to say…you don't have this lozenge aka aphrodisiac rushing through your system." His cheeks tint a light pink color with his next words, "I get hard whenever he just looks at me with that sexy smirk on his face."

She stands up and makes her way to where he's sitting. She grabs his shoulders and shakes him roughly, "You have to stay strong! Just say no!"

"St-stop sh-shaking me!" When the shaking stops he straightens his clothes and hair, "Don't you think I know that?! It'll be tough, but I know I can do it…or not do it as the case may be." He carefully stands up from the chair and makes his way to the door, "I have to go considering it will probably take me half the night just to get back to my room."

"I'll walk with you." She begins putting on her shoes when she sees him shake his head, "Why not?"

"I need some time to think about some things." He opens the door and steps out, "Thanks for all the support though."

Before she can respond, he leaves the room and shuts the door behind him. He then begins his slow trek back to his own quarters where he knew Ikkaku would be waiting for him. However, when he finally made it back his bald lover was nowhere to be seen. He did eventually find a note saying that the third seat had gone out with Renji for a few hours.

Ikkaku couldn't believe he'd actually managed to get Renji away from either squad six or the Kuchiki manor. He'd tried hanging out with Renji for weeks and he could never convince the redhead to go out. He always claimed he had to stay with the baby or catch up on paperwork or some boring shit like that. Ever since Renji and Captain Kuchiki had that baby together it was really putting a damper on his and Renji's drinking and bullshitting time together, "I'm glad ya finally decided that yer friends were important for once."

Renji rolls his eyes as he takes a sip of his drink, "Ya know I do have more responsibilities now with Takahiro and all."

"Yeah, yeah." The bald man takes a gulp of his own drink, "That's all I ever hear from ya any more. Takahiro this and Takahiro that."

Renji lets out a chuckle, "Well, he is my son and I can't ask Byakuya to look after him all the time especially since he captains the squad all day long. Plus, I wanna spend time with my son. You don't understand because ya don't have any kids yet."

Ikkaku almost chokes on his drink at Renji's words, "Yet?" He shakes his head, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

The redhead shrugs as he grips the glass tighter in his hand, "Just what it sounds like. When you and Yumichika have a kid then you'll understand why my schedule has changed and why I wanna spend time with Takahiro and Byakuya more often."

The third seat rolls his eyes, "There ain't gonna be no kid fer me and Yumi."

The tattooed shinigami looks down at his drink and swishes the liquid around in the glass. He almost felt sorry for Yumichika. He knew his dark haired friend wanted a child, but he also knew how stubborn Ikkaku was, "Are ya sure? He seemed like he really wanted one a few months back."

An aggravated growl escapes Ikkaku's throat before he downs his drink in one gulp, "I didn't ask to hang out with ya to talk about me and Yumi having a fucking kid!"

"Fine." Renji takes another sip of his drink. The redhead was trying to make his drink last considering he had promised Byakuya he wouldn't drink a lot, "So what did ya wanna talk about?"

Ikkaku starts on his new glass of alcoholic goodness before speaking again, "What makes ya think I didn't just wanna hang out?"

"Well, ya usually invite more of our friends if ya wanna hang out and Yumichika would be with ya." He looks around the bar for a bit before settling his eyes on Ikkaku again, "I don't see anyone else in our group so I assumed you wanted to talk to me alone about something."

Ikkaku looks down at the bar before finally looking at Renji with a worried look on his face, "Okay, ya got me. Yumichika is actually the reason why I wanted to talk to ya."

The lieutenant's tattooed eyebrows come together in confusion, "Why? Is he okay? I heard that he hurt his leg the other day, but I didn't think it was anything serious."

The bald shinigami waves away Renji's concern and shakes his head, "Nah, he's fine and his leg is nothing serious."

"Oh, okay." Renji searches his friend's face and tries to figure out what could be bothering him just by reading his facial expression, "Then what's goin' on then?"

Ikkaku lets out a concerned sigh before once again taking a long gulp from his drink, "I feel like…like Yumi is avoiding me fer some reason, but I can't think of any reason why he'd be doin' that."

The redhead takes a tentative sip of his own drink as he contemplates Ikkaku's words, "Whataya mean avoiding? I saw the two of you walking around together yesterday."

"That ain't what I mean." The third seat scratches his head as he tries to find the right words, "We still sleep in the same futon and eat meals together and all that shit, but I feel like he doesn't wanna have sex with me anymore."

Renji lets out a soft chuckle, "Dude, you worry too much. He's probably just not in the mood." The scarlet haired shinigami takes a few more sips of his drink, "Everybody gets that way now and again."

Ikkaku shakes his head as he pushes his drink aside, "I don't think that's it. He always seems ready to go and then at the last minute he backs out." He rubs the back of his head in a worrying gesture, "I know I didn't do nothing to piss him off cause Yumi hasn't ever been shy about telling my ass off before. I'd know if I pissed him off." Another deep sigh leaves the eleventh squad member's mouth as he finally gives Renji a truly terrified look, "Ya don't think that…that he's…he's cheatin' on me do ya?"

The sixth lieutenant chokes on his drink in order to keep from spitting it across the room, "Are you fuckin' crazy?! How could ya even ask that?! Yumichika loves you. I'm still tryin' to figure out why, but he does. He would never do something like that."

"I know it sounds crazy, but why else wouldn't he wanna have sex with me?" Ikkaku keeps up rubbing his head and ignoring his drink, "I don't even wanna think about him being all sexy and naked and fuckin' with someone else, but…"

"Stop! Just stop!" Renji puts a hand on Ikkaku's shoulder, "That's pure crazy! There has got to be another explanation." Renji is quiet for a moment as he tries to think of an explanation, "He hurt his leg…so maybe it's not comfortable to have sex with his leg hurting."

Ikkaku shakes his head and remembers his drink finally taking a long gulp, "He was actin' this way before he hurt his leg and I'm not entirely convinced that he didn't hurt his leg on purpose to keep from having' sex with me."

"Are you listening to yourself?" The redhead gives his friend a disbelieving look, "Why would Yumichika do that?"

Ikkaku shrugs, "I don't know, but somethin' is goin' on with him."

Renji runs a hand through his ponytail, "There's has to be a reasonable explanation."

"Like what?" The worried expression exaggerates the lines on the third seat's face as he looks to his red haired friend for help.

Renji lets out a defeated sigh before shaking his head, "I don't know, but it sounds like the two of ya need to sit down and talk this out. Ya know…tell him everything yer feeling and let him do the same."

"Pffft! You and Princess Kuchiki might do that gay shit, but me and Yumi don't work like that." He looks away from Renji and back at his almost empty glass.

An amused expression graces the tattooed man's features, "Says the guy who's upset because his best male friend won't have sex with him."

Ikkaku turns his back to Renji, "Shut the fuck up! Ya know what I mean." He finishes off his drink and orders another, "I ain't good at talking about my feelings and me and Yumi ain't never done that shit."

Renji nurses his drink for a few more seconds before finishing it off, "Look, I know how eleventh squad is…I used to be in that squad and I know ya guys don't like to talk about yer feelings and all that, but sometimes ya gotta get over yourself and do what's best for the situation." He places a hand on Ikkaku's back making the third seat turn to face him again, "Ya gotta do what's best for you and Yumichika."

Ikkaku gives the younger man an angry look before downing his drink all in one gulp, "Forget it, man. I'll just fuckin' figure out what to do on my own." He stands up and throws some money on the bar, "Get back to yer kid and I'll deal with my problems on my own."

Renji watches Ikkaku turn and leave the bar. The redhead then places his own money on the bar before heading back to Kuchiki manor. He sure hoped Ikkaku didn't do or say anything stupid to Yumichika, but what were the chances he would do anything different.

Little does Renji know, the bald third seat doesn't head back to his shared room with Yumichika, but makes his way to another bar. Yumichika had no idea when his lover was coming home and eventually makes himself as comfortable as possible in the futon. However, the fifth seat finds it very difficult to get to sleep without Ikkaku resting beside him…not to mention his leg was killing him.

After several hours of waiting up, Yumichika drifts off to sleep, but his dreams don't let him get any rest. When he wasn't dreaming about being pregnant and Ikkaku being angry he dreamed that Ikkaku had gotten himself in some trouble or killed. His lover's death was always on his mind…even in his dreams…or perhaps they should more accurately be called nightmares.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. A Part of Him

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Sorry it has taken me forever and a day to update. I won't waste your time with excuses. Special thanks for the people who haven't given up on me. EzraTheBlue for reviewing, kyuumihaira for reviewing, QueenLanaRey for reviewing, Aile UchihaxUzumaki for favoriting, Guest for reviewing, I love brown eyes for following, and Pocky0523 for following.**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

The next morning, Yumichika wakes to find that his leg isn't quite as sore and swollen as it was the day before. He actually doesn't know whether or not to be happy about this or worried. Right now, however, he was worried about Ikkaku. The third seat didn't come in during the night and Yumichika couldn't sense him anywhere in their quarters. The raven haired shinigami carefully stands up from the futon and makes his way into the living room. He looks around, but doesn't see any sign that Ikkaku had been there at all during the night. He lets out a concerned sigh. He really hoped that nothing bad had happened to his lover. He knew that sometimes Ikkaku got carried away when he went out drinking especially if he didn't have squad duty the next day…which he didn't. Yumichika decides he will just go about his normal daily activities and not worry about Ikkaku until later in the day. He was sure his bald boyfriend would barge in hung over any minute now.

Yumichika goes into the bathroom and gets his morning rituals out of the way and then makes his way into the kitchen to get something to eat. He's completely finished with his breakfast and cleaning up the kitchen and dining room when he senses Ikkaku's reiatsu coming toward their quarters. The fifth seat continues cleaning up trying to pretend like he hasn't been worried out of his mind during Ikkaku's absence.

The third seat finally makes his way into the room and flops down onto the couch. Yumichika enters the living room as well and gives Ikkaku an irritated look, "And, just where have you been all night and all morning? Do you even realize how worried I've been about you?"

Ikkaku closes his eyes and rubs his temples with his fingers, "I left a note didn't I? Told ya I'd be out drinkin'."

The smaller man places his hands on his hips and frowns before speaking again, "You failed to mention that you would be out all night! I hope you didn't keep Renji out all night. You know he has a baby now."

Ikkaku covers his eyes with one of the pillows on the couch and lets out a groan, "Renji barely had one drink. He went back home to his baby and his bitch and I went to another bar fer more drinks. Now, could ya please stop shoutin'?"

"Why should I?" The dark haired shinigami snatches the pillow away from Ikkaku's eyes and throws it across the room, "It's your own fault that you have a hangover and it's your fault that I'm worried about you!"

The third seat sits up on the couch and glares at his petite lover for a moment, "Why would ya be worried about me anyway? Cause if I hadda stayed here last night we woulda just sat around doing nothin'. Ya been avoidin' me here lately. So I figured if ya don't wanna have sex with me no more then I'd just go out and get drunk. I figured ya were too busy guarding yer ass to worry about what I was doin'."

Yumichika only stares at his lover speechless for a few seconds before a furious expression appears on his face, "Excuse me?! Is that all I am to you?! Just a way to get off?! I have a hurt leg in case you haven't noticed!"

Ikkaku lets out a derisive chuckle, "A hurt leg…you were avoidin' sex with me before ya hurt yer leg! I'm startin' to think ya hurt yer leg on purpose to give me that fuckin' excuse!"

"Are you even listening to yourself right now?!" The fifth seat comes around the corner to bring himself farther into the room, "Why would I do that?! That makes no sense!"

Ikkaku stands up from the couch and points at his lover, "You tell me, Yumi? Why are ya bein' so weird here lately? Ya been hangin' out with Rangiku an awful lot lately and ya haven't had sex with me in almost a week and now yer biting my head off fer spending a night out drinkin'!" He lets out an angry growl, "Ya tell me why ya would hurt yer leg on purpose?! I know somethin's going on with ya and I don't know what it is yet, but I do know one thing…ya better hope that whatever is goin' on that I hear it outta yer mouth and not from someone else!"

An offended expression over takes the enraged one on the fifth seat's face after hearing his lover's words, "And just what does that mean?! What are you accusing me of exactly?!"

"I ain't sayin' nothin' else until you tell me what in the hell yer up to." Ikkaku crosses his arms over his chest and gives Yumichika a determined look, "Whenever yer ready."

Yumichika shakes his head in disbelief as he yanks a bag up from a nearby chair, "Fuck you, Ikkaku! I don't have to stay here and take this!" The smaller man then makes his way around the room stuffing different items into the bag, "You're drunk and not thinking straight. I'm going to spend the night somewhere else tonight and maybe tomorrow until you've had a chance to calm down."

"The fuck ya are! You ain't goin' no damn where until we talk!" He makes his way to Yumichika and attempts to snatch the bag out of his hand, "Sit yer ass down and tell me what the fuck is goin' on!"

Yumichika tightens his grip on the bag before giving Ikkaku the most hateful look he can muster, "Let go of my satchel right now, Ikkaku!"

Ikkaku also tightens his grip on the bag and returns Yumichika's furious expression, "Or what? Yer just gonna walk out and not even talk about this?!"

Without loosening his grip on the bag Yumichika responds, "That's rich coming from you! Every time I want to talk about something important to me you always tell me I'm being stupid! So why should I give you the pleasure of sitting down and discussing whatever it is you think I've done to you?!" Yumichika can feel Ikkaku's grip slacken a bit as he tries to think of a comeback giving the fifth seat the chance to reclaim possession of the bag, "If you thought this shouting match was going to get me to have sex with you then you are sadly mistaken and I sure hope you haven't pissed off your hand because that's the only company you'll be having for a while."

Yumichika makes his way into the bedroom where he continues to stuff things into the bag before going into the bathroom. When he returns from the bathroom, he notices Ikkaku is standing on the threshold of the bedroom with his arms crossed, "And just where the fuck do ya think yer gonna stay anyway?"

Yumichika cinches the bag closed and gives his lover a patronizing smile, "Wouldn't you love to know that?"

He then shoulders his way passed Ikkaku and puts his shoes on at the door, "When are ya coming back?"

The raven haired man slings the bag over his shoulder and makes a point not to look at Ikkaku as he answers, "I don't have to answer myself to you. When you decide that we can sit down and have a genuine talk about any and everything then perhaps I'll come back sooner than you think."

Before Ikkaku can respond, Yumichika leaves their quarters, the only thing Yumichika failed to do was limp, but Ikkaku certainly didn't miss it. His lover was going to have some explaining to do if he had to come right out and be blunt about it the next time they were together.

Yumichika angrily makes his way to Rangiku's because…well, who else was there that would understand the whole story of what was going on. She was also probably his best bet for having somewhere to stay for a few days. He makes it to her quarters and knocks on the door. She soon comes to the door and as soon as the door opens Yumichika wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her cleavage before bursting into tears.

She returns his embrace and rubs his back with her hand, "What's the matter, sweetie? And why do you have a bag packed?"

"I-I…I had a fight with Ikkaku and I need to…to talk to you." He lifts his face from her breasts and wipes his eyes on his sleeve, "Can I…can I come in?"

"Of course." She takes his hand and leads him into the room, "Now, have a seat and tell me everything that happened."

He nods and takes a seat before beginning his story. A few minutes later he's wrapping up the story, "And then he says, whatever is going on he had better hear it from me and not someone else. What the hell does that mean?"

A concerned expression appears on the busty lieutenant's face after hearing Yumichika's story, "Well, there's no way he could possible know what you actually did, but he has something in his mind made up that you've done." She chews on her bottom lip for a few seconds before giving the fifth seat a sympathetic look, "I really think you should just give in and tell him the truth about what you did."

Yumichika lets out an appalled gasp, "Rangiku! I can't do that! I thought you were on my side?!"

"I am on your side, but Ikkaku is obviously really mad about whatever it is he thinks you've done." She lets out a worried sigh, "It might be better on your relationship to just tell him what's actually going on."

A defeated expression overcomes Yumichika's features as he sinks lower into the chair he's occupying, "I can't tell him what I did because if I do he'll ask all kinds of questions and get mad and then he'll never trust me again! He'll always question me for the rest of time!"

"And what happens if you actually get pregnant?" She gives him a serious look, "How are you going to explain that to him? Will he trust you then?" She notices his forlorn facial expression and tries to soften her tone, "All I'm saying, sweetie, is put yourself in his position. He's probably wondering if he did something wrong or who knows what. Just tell him you made a mistake and that you know you should have talked to him first. Yes, he will be upset with you, but it's better than all this sneaking around you're doing."

"It sounds so easy when you say it, but I know he won't react the way you or I would react." Yumichika nervously rubs his hands together in his lap, "I just want him to want a baby as much as me, but he won't even talk about it with me. If he won't even talk about having a baby then how in Soul Society are we going to have a civilized conversation about me almost having one without even telling him about it?"

Rangiku shakes her head not really knowing anything helpful to say to him, "There are only two options…you either continue lying to him and take whatever consequences come with that or you tell him the truth. You know him better than anyone so only you know how he will react."

The two shinigami are quiet for a moment as both try to think of a proper solution to the fifth seat's problem. Finally, Yumichika breaks the silence by speaking again, "Sometimes, I wish that I had been Captain Kurotsuchi's first test subject. Then it wouldn't be my fault if I was pregnant and Ikkaku and I would already have a baby of our own."

Rangiku stands up and makes her way to her dejected friend and kneels down beside him to take his hand in hers, "You know Captain Kurotsuchi chooses his test subject wisely and he knew better than to mess with anybody in Eleventh Squad. Plus, Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku have been together so long that they make your and Ikkaku's relationship seem like puppy love. Captain Kurotsuchi knew those two could handle it…both of them." She releases his hand and stands back up, "Besides, look at how much older they are then you and Ikkaku. It's not like you have to be in a huge rush to have a baby. You have plenty of time."

Yumichika lowers his gaze to the floor as his ears absorb her words, "Do I?"

The tenth lieutenant's eyebrows come together in confusion, "What does that mean? I know you and Ikkaku aren't breaking up anytime soon."

He shakes his head, "That's not what I mean."

She kneels back down and forces him to look at her again, "Then what are you talking about, sweetie?"

When he looks at her his violet eyes are shiny with unshed tears, "You see how reckless he is…he's determined to either have victory or…or die. Who's to say there wouldn't be a battle tomorrow and I might lose him forever." He lets out a heavy sigh before continuing, "I want a baby with him first and foremost because I want us to have a baby together, but if something were to happen to him then at least I'd have a part of him with me. Part of him would still be here in Seireitei…in Soul Society."

The unshed tears finally slip down his cheeks and Rangiku quickly wipes them away with her fingertips, "Have you ever told Ikkaku this?"

Yumichika sniffles and shakes his head, "No, he would say I was being weak and that I didn't have faith in his abilities." He looks up with pleading in his eyes, "Please, don't tell anyone I told you that."

She shakes her head, "Of course not." She stands up once again and walks to the closet. She then pulls out an extra futon, "You can stay here for a few days and let him cool off and you get your wits back. Then you can decide with a clear head what the two of you need to do."

Yumichika nods and wipes his face with his sleeve. He knew better than to argue with Rangiku and it was actually a good idea anyway.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading!**


	7. Deep Down

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**I'm back! Finally...IKR! Anyway, I have been busy in real life. I'm still attempting to find another job while continuing to work at my curretn job and I got engaged in November and I have been busy planning a wedding for June. Anyway, I'm sorry for making you all wait so long but here it is.  
**

**Special Thanks: Fan5124 for the fave and follow, EzraTheBlue for the review, Angel 1028 for the review, kyuumihaira for the review, guest for the review, hellosara49 for the fave and follow, AnimeChick391 for the fave, HadenXCharm for the fave and follow, QueenLanaRey, for the review, ChooShoo for the follow, Tess the ciclopse for the fave and the follow, Sauri555 for the fave and the follow, Rasiaa for the fave, nightmre 13 for the fave and follow, 13emstr for the follow, Rochelle 13 for the follow, YaoiFangirl2002 for the fave and the follow, hoigui for the fave and the review, baka for the review, CainAJLBassen for the follow, Amelta for the fave and the follow, sheepfonfon for the fave and the follow, TheYMR21 for the follow, and Bijuui9 for the fave.**

* * *

After their fight, Ikkaku waited a few hours for Yumichika to come back to their quarters, but when the dark haired Shinigami never returned the third seat realized he must have really pissed his lover off this time. After a few more minutes of waiting, Ikkaku decides he might as well soothe his hangover by going out and getting a few more drinks. Several hours later, the bald man wakes to find himself lying on the threshold of his and Yumichika's bathroom with his upper body in the bathroom and his lower half in the hallway. He didn't remember coming back from the bars, but some how he had made back home. He groggily sits up and looks around for Yumichika. When he doesn't see or sense his lover he realizes that the fifth seat must still be mad and had no intention of returning tonight.

Ikkaku eventually manages to stand up and rubs his temples with his fingers. He really did wish he hadn't said some of those things to Yumichika. Renji had to be right on this one…there was no way his Yumi could be cheating on him…right? Ikkaku shakes his head, which was a mistake considering how dizzy it made him. He makes his way to the futon and sits down. The futon smelled like Yumichika and this made the bald warrior even more upset by what happened earlier. He was fairly certain Yumi was with Rangiku. That was his lover's go to spot when he needed a break, but Ikkaku knew better than to go to the Lieutenant's house. There was no way she would let him talk to Yumichika and he doubted Yumi wanted to talk to him anyway.

Ikkaku lets out a sigh and stands up again. He goes to the kitchen and downs a few glasses of water before slipping his shoes on and heading out of their quarters. He didn't really know where he was going, but he couldn't stay there. It just didn't feel right without Yumichika there. After what felt like hours of walking, Ikkaku finds himself standing in front of Kuchiki Manor. He didn't really think he wanted to hear Renji's bullshit again, but his subconscious must have led him here and he figured this was as good a place as any to crash for the rest of the night.

The eleventh squad member pounds on the door several times and when someone finally answers it definitely wasn't one of the servants like he expected. Renji was standing on the other side of the door with an angry look on his face, "The hell are ya doing here at a time like this?! Do ya even know what time it is?!"

Ikkaku stares blankly at the redhead for a moment before shaking his head, "No, I didn't figure it was that late and I just wanted to come by an…"

"It's 3 in the fuckin' morning!" Renji crosses his arms and gives his bald friend another fury-filled glare, "You scared the servants half to death and Byakuya was seconds away from blowing yer ass away with his bankai! The fuck are ya doin' here at this hour?!"

Without intending to, Ikkaku's expression falls into a frown and his shoulders slump, "I'm sorry, man, but…but me an Yumi got into a big fight and I went out an got drunk as hell. I didn't know what the fuck time it was." He stands up a little straighter and turns away from the door, "I'll just go. I hope I didn't wake up yer fuckin' kid or nothin'."

Renji lets out a defeated sigh as he shakes his head, "No, Takahiro is still asleep." He uncrosses his arms and opens the door a bit wider, "Come in…quietly and tell me what happened."

Ikkaku turns to face his tattooed friend once again and begins walking toward the front door, "Are ya sure? I don't wanna cause no trouble with yer wife or nothin'."

An irritated expression appears on Renji's face at the third seat calling his lover his wife, "Do ya wanna come in or not?"

"Alright, alright…sorry." Ikkaku makes his way into the alcove of the manor and after Renji shuts the door he follows his redheaded friend into the living room.

The sixth lieutenant gestures toward a chair, "Sit down and I'll make ya some tea. Then ya can tell me what ya did this time."

An offended look plays over Ikkaku's features at Renji's words, "What makes ya think I did something?"

"Because, it's always yer fault when the two of ya fight." He ignores the bald man's protests and makes his way to the kitchen leaving Ikkaku to sit in the living room by himself.

Ikkaku sits quietly in the darkness of the living room with his eyes closed. The dark made his head feel a little better and it didn't pound quite as much as before. After several minutes when Renji doesn't return, the third seat opens his eyes and looks around the room. The stray rays of moonlight seeping in through the window illuminate several family photos and few photos featuring just Takahiro. It was still hard for Ikkaku to believe that Renji was a dad now and was the father of Byakuya Kuchiki's child for that matter. He never really liked to think about the fact that his former drinking and bullshitting buddy had another life that included a baby. Renji did look very happy in the photos though.

Ikkaku lets out a sigh and closes his eyes again. Could it really be possible to be happy and have a kid at the same time? Renji and Captain Kuchiki sure looked happy in their photos. Yumichika's face suddenly appears in the darkness beneath the third seat's closed eye lids. Yumichika seemed to think he would be happier with a baby. Ikkaku's eyes open again and his lover's image disappears. Why wasn't their relationship enough any more? Why did Yumichika need someone else to make him happy?

Before Ikkaku can ponder on the subject any longer the lights come on and Renji walks into the room carrying a tray with two tea cups on it. He places the tray on the tea table in the center of the room before offering Ikkaku a cup. The bald Shinigami takes the cup from his crimson haired friend and allows the warmth from the tea to seep into his cold fingers. He's quiet for a long while as he and Renji sip their tea. Why did he even come here? There was nothing Renji Abarai could do to help Ikkaku. He had basically accused Yumichika of cheating on him and the fifth seat didn't even deny it. Ikkaku's grip tightens on the cup before he remembers the hot tea inside and slackens his grip.

Finally, Renji breaks the silence, "So, what's goin' on? What are ya guys fighting about now?"

The older man puts his tea cup back on the table before leaning back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest, "I came back from drinkin' and he chewed me out fer bein' out so late. So I said I didn't understand why he was worried since he's been just ignoring me fer the past week and then he got mad at me fer saying that." Ikkaku pauses his story for a moment as the color in his cheeks begins to turn red, "And then I may have…kind of accused him of…cheatin' on me."

Renji chokes violently on his tea for a moment before also setting his cup down, "Dude! You did what?!"

Ikkaku uncrosses his arms before bending over and placing his elbows on his knees and his hands on his bald head. He lets out a frustrated sigh, "I didn't just come right out an say it…I sorta insinuated, but I…I think he figured it out."

"No, shit he figured it out! He's not an idiot." Renji shakes his head making his loose red strands sway against his shoulders, "Why in the hell would ya say somethin' like that?"

Ikkaku rubs his head a few times before sitting up in the chair again, "Cause…he ain't been himself fer a few weeks and…and I was hung over and still a little bit drunk and I just said what came to my mind."

The redhead sighs, "Look, Yumichika may be a lot of things…vain, stubborn, kind of an asshole…"

"Hey!" The bald man straightens up with an angry look on his face, "The hell, man!"

Renji raises his hands in a gesture of surrender, "Sorry…I just mean that he has his flaws, but he ain't no cheater. He loves ya and he wouldn't do somethin' like that."

The third seat is very quiet for a long time as conflicting expressions of anger and confusion play across his features. When he finally speaks again his voice his so low that Renji has to lean in to hear him, "It's never been this way with Yumi before. We usually know just what the other one wants without havin' to ever talk about it. I don't know what's goin' on, but he's different and I don't know what he wants me to do."

"Ya ever thought about asking him what he wants and not gettin' mad when he tells ya?" Renji watches as Ikkaku's slightly angry expression changes to an irritated frown.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Ikkaku stands up and paces the room a bit before speaking again, "When I accused him of cheatin' he didn't deny it and he didn't tell me what was really goin' on. Whatever's goin' on…he don't wanna talk to me about it."

Renji places his hands in his lap and laces his fingers together. He didn't want to ask his next question, but he knew he needed to in order to get anywhere with his bald friend, "Deep down…don't ya really know what he wants to talk about? Don't ya already know why he's bein' distant?"

Ikkaku gives his back to the tattooed lieutenant and once again crosses his arms, "I don't wanna talk about this no more. Can I stay the rest of the night here? I won't make no noise and I won't make a mess. Ya won't even know I'm here."

As much as Renji wanted force Ikkaku to talk about the real issue at hand, he knew it wouldn't do any good and it would just cause the eleventh squad member to get furious, "Yeah, follow me and I'll get ya some clothes to borrow fer the night."

Ikkaku nods and follows the redhead to one of the many guest rooms in the Kuchiki Manor. He knew Renji was right. He knew what his lover wanted more than anything else, but Ikkaku just didn't want to admit to himself much less to Renji that he knew he was being a selfish asshole to the one person in the universe who meant everything to him. He knew he was disappointing Yumichika, but he knew he would be an even bigger disappointment at being a father.

Renji hands the bald man a bundle of clothes, "Do ya need anything else?"

"Nah, I'm good." Ikkaku begins stripping out of his clothes without paying Renji any attention, "Thanks fer letting me stay the night. I'll be gone in the mornin' before you or Captain Kuchiki even realizes it."

Renji places his hands on his hips and bites his tongue to keep from saying what he really wanted to say, "Well, stay as long as ya need to and just leave the borrowed clothes in the bathroom and one of the servants will get em in the morning."

Ikkaku nods as he pulls on the borrowed clothes and flops onto the futon, "Yeah, alright."

Renji nods as well and leaves the guest room to head back to his and Byakuya's bedroom. He didn't like the path that his friends were travelling down. He knew Yumichika loved Ikkaku, but a guy could only put up with so much. Renji really hoped nothing bad would happen to his friend's long time relationship.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Not Ready?

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

** Hello, I'm back with an update. So sorry for the long wait. Most of you know that I am getting married on June 11th and most of my free time has been spent planning that. I was trying to update all my ongoing fics though before the honeymoon. I know this chapter isn't very long so I apologize for that as well.  
**

**Anyway, special thanks time: Deep Down for reviewing, ctofi1 for the fave and follow, .havens for the follow, ChochoChibi456 for following, Balckrove for the fave, follow, and review, carita1990 for the fave and follow, Kuroshibata 70 for the follow, Livandra for the follow.**

**Thanks for not giving up me guys! All your support is very much appreciated!**

* * *

It was well into the early hours of the morning and Yumichika was still wide awake on the borrowed futon from Rangiku. If he had to guess he would say it was around four in the morning. He lets out a restless sigh and turns his head to see his busty friend with her back to him on her own futon. He knew he should be trying to get some sleep as well, but he was more upset than he let on to Rangiku about his and Ikkaku's fight. It had been a long time since they had fought like that. He only hoped that Ikkaku would understand and forgive him after the seven days were over. He only had four more days to go, but those four days seemed like an eternity when he was lying to his lover. He remains silent for a little longer as he mulls over his thoughts before opening his mouth to whisper, "Rangiku? Are you asleep?"

The blonde lieutenant rolls over to face him, "No, I can't sleep? You're restless reiatsu is driving me crazy."

"Sorry." He frowns at knowing his worry is keeping his friend awake, "I can't help it. I'm so confused about everything."

She lets out a concerned sigh, "I wish I knew how to help, sweetie." She sits up and fingers the tangles out of her hair before looking at the fifth seat again, "I still think you should just come clean. Just tell him everything and let him know it was just a lapse of judgment and you won't do it again."

Yumichika sits up as well as he fully gives up on getting any sleep, "I can't…it wouldn't be as simple as you think." He lets out a heavy sigh, "I have to just keep him at bay for a little longer."

The blonde frowns at the dejected sound in Yumichika's voice, "Let's say you do manage to hold him off for the remaining days and the two of you actually resolve the fight that's going on right now and he's never the wiser to what almost happened…then what?"

"What do you mean?" His violet eyes show his confusion as he awaits her explanation.

"When this is all said and done you still want a baby and he doesn't." Her frown worsens as she contemplates her next words, "Sure you may still have his trust, but you don't have what you really want and you've done absolutely nothing to make him see how badly you want this." She shakes her head in frustration, "What good is his trust if you end up resenting him for not even considering what you want the most." She gives him a stern look, "Resentment can break up a relationship quicker than you think and I don't want to see that happen to the two of you."

"I know that, but…" He looks down at the futon, "The timing just isn't right."

She lets out a sigh as she puts her fingers underneath his chin to lift his face up to hers, "The timing for something like this will never be right. You just have to bite the bullet and tell him this is what you want. You have to give him an ultimatum."

"I can't do that." His eyebrows come together with worry as he turns his face away from her once again, "As much as I want a baby…I-I want him always. I don't want to ever know an existence without him in it." He brings his gaze back around to her showing her his glistening violet eyes, "You don't know what all we've been through together."

The room is quiet for a very long time without either Shinigami saying a word. Yumichika was trying his hardest not to be upset by the whole situation and Rangiku didn't really know what else to say that wouldn't make her friend's situation seem even more hopeless. Finally, the fifth seat opens his mouth and breaks the crushing silence of the small bedroom, "What do you think it feels like…to be pregnant?"

Rangiku thinks about Yumichika's question for a moment before responding, "I think it would be scary and happy, but also weird all at the same time."

"I think so too." He nods and quickly wipes away the few tears that manage to escape down his cheeks, "Do you think I'll ever get to experience it?"

She gives him a long reflective look, "This is really something you want, isn't it? Not just some passing fancy of yours?"

He nods his head as more tears leak from his eyes, "I have thought about this more than you will ever know." He lets out a soft breath before continuing, "I've always wanted a family with Ikkaku, but I never thought that was possible for us, but then Captain Ukitake had his baby and I was so excited to know that it was possible for me and Ikkaku, but I was still a little bit scared and not sure if that's the path I actually wanted to take." He wipes his face with his hands and sniffles before speaking again, "I thought about it a lot after Emiko was born, but I never had much dealings with that family so I sort of let the idea slip from my mind. That is until Renji and Captain Kuchiki had a child. Renji is a close friend and he used to be part of the Eleventh Squad. Seeing Captain Kuchiki go through his pregnancy and getting to see how excited Renji was…it…it made me want to have the same experience with Ikkaku, but I think seeing Renji's experience is what really soured the whole idea for Ikkaku."

Rangiku listens raptly to his story before breaking in with her own words, "What makes you think that? Captain Kuchiki had a wonderful pregnancy and birth unlike Captain Ukitake. Why would that make Ikkaku think negatively about it?"

"I don't really think it's the pregnancy and birth that bothered Ikkaku." He shifts his position on the futon to be able to face the tenth lieutenant a little better, "I think Ikkaku only sees that Renji doesn't have as much free time as before, but he also doesn't see how happy having a child has made him either. I think Ikkaku views children as a burden and I think he didn't have a very good childhood so he doesn't want to bring a child into the world not really knowing how to be a father because I think he's never had a good father experience."

Rangiku frowns, "That's really sad, but he can't let that stop him from experiencing something like that with you. I think the two of you really need to sit down and talk about everything. Maybe not the lozenge incident that is going on right now, but about all the things you just told me."

Yumichika lowers his gaze to the futon again and lets out a very defeated sigh, "Don't you think I've tried. He absolutely does not want to talk about any of this. I think…I think it makes him feel vulnerable and he doesn't like that."

Rangiku shakes her head once more before lying back down on her futon, "I don't know how to help, sweetie. I wish I could make it all better for you."

He lies back down as well and lets the frustrated tears flow from his eyes, "Thank you, Rangiku for just being here."

Later in the morning, Ikkaku wakes and for a moment he forgets that he spent the night in Kuchiki manor. He sits up and stretches and feels the throbbing in his head from the massive hangover. He groans as he swings his feet over the side of the bed before standing up and making his way to the bathroom. He rids himself of the borrowed pajamas and leaves them in the corner as Renji had asked him to. As he dresses in his own clothes he can't help but replay the fight he and Yumichika had in his head. As much as he didn't want to talk about whatever was making Yumichika angry he figured he had better just grit his teeth and listen to his lover for once.

Renji had been right. He did know what Yumichika wanted, but he just didn't know how to even begin a discussion like that. Sure, Yumichika had tried to talk to him about it plenty of times, but he always shut it down. He hated to see the defeated look on his lover's face when he shut down the conversation, but he just wasn't ready for any of this stuff. Ikkaku finishes dressing and makes his way down stairs as quietly as possible so as not to wake anyone in the house, but as he makes it downstairs he sees Renji sitting in a rocking chair giving Takahiro a bottle, "Hey, man…leaving already?"

Ikkaku stops his journey to the door and turns to face Renji, "Yeah, I really appreciate ya lettin' me crash here last night. Hope I didn't cause ya too much trouble."

Renji stands up still holding Takahiro, "It was nothing. Byakuya was a little pissed about all the noise ya were making but he was fine with ya staying the night. Ya should stay for breakfast."

"Nah." The bald man shakes his head, "I should be gettin' back and try to figure out what the f..uh, what I did to make Yumi so mad."

Renji nods as a look of understanding passes over his features, "Well, good luck with that. Let me know how it turns out."

"You'll know how it turns out if I'm back here spendin' the night again or not." He claps Renji on the shoulder, but not hard enough to jar the baby, "Tell yer wife I said hello."

Before the redhead can retort, Ikkaku heads out the door into the sunlight. His hangover really was a bitch with the sun in his eyes and he was still too dizzy to try and flash step back to his quarters so he just walks hoping that sweating would help get rid of his hangover. He wanted to go to Rangiku's and force Yumi to talk to him, but he knew better and figured he should give his lover a couple more days to cool off, but if the fifth seat didn't return by tomorrow evening then he was going down there and drag him back home of he had too.

He hated that they were in this place. He wanted things to be the way they always were. What was wrong with the way things were? Why did Yumichika feel like he needed something else to make him happy? Wasn't Ikkaku enough? The third seat shakes his head making his head swim slightly. He knew it wasn't Yumichika's fault. The real question was, why wasn't he ready to progress their relationship? Why didn't he want the same thing Yumichika wanted? He hated himself for not knowing the answer and he hated himself even more for making Yumichika sad.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	9. Come Home

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**I am finally back with an update! I know it has taken me forever and I am so sorry about that. I have been very busy in real life and I was finishing up a fic on my other account that I have been writing for three years. Now that am done with that one I will be working on this one exclusively until I am done with it. I hope you can forgive me for the long wait.**

**Special thanks: EzraTheBlue for the review, kyuumihaira for the review, HadenXCharm for the review, kenni-bun bun for the review, nightangel2050 for the fave, Amelta for the review, shiguresohma90 for the follow, Haruka Uzumaki21 for the fave and follow, Cana dreyar for the fave and follow, Mana Madvin for the follow, Gabbzz1046 for the fave, Fluffy Iggie 5o for the follow and fave, mspris for the follow, Tess the ciclopse for the fave, jenniferlane199121 for the fave and follow, nightcrazyknight for the follow.**

**Thanks everyone and thank you for reading!**

* * *

Ikkaku knew better than to think he and Yumichika would see each other at squad duty. The two of them may have been fighting but that didn't stop the third seat from knowing Yumi like the back of his hand. He knew the smaller man would confront the captain well before squad duty and request that he and Ikkaku work far away from each other for the next few days. He also knew that Captain Zaraki wouldn't object and had learned by now not to question what was going on in Ikkaku and Yumichika's relationship.

The bald shinigami steps out of the shower and reaches for a towel. He sure wished that he hadn't said some of those things to Yumichika, but the damage was done now. He had almost stormed down to Rangiku's quarters to force Yumichika to come home, but after a few minutes he decided that would do more harm than good and figured he should just get ready for squad duty.

Ikkaku wasn't as clueless as everyone thought he was about the situation. He knew what Yumichika wanted, but whenever his lover brought it up the third seat found himself becoming terrified of the conversation. He hated to admit that even to himself, but it was the truth. He wanted Yumichika to be happy, but would it make him happy? Why had their relationship taken such an uncomfortable turn? Damn, Kurotsuchi and his magical baby-making lozenge. It was that make-up wearing bastard's fault.

The third seat frowns as he slips on his clothes. Deep down, he knew it wasn't anyone's fault. Yumichika wanted a baby and he didn't. That was the problem…a problem that Ikkaku didn't quite know the solution for just yet and the strain of it all was weighing on their relationship. He finishes dressing and makes his way to the eleventh training field to find out where he would be stationed for the day. He would just have to let Yumichika calm down for a few more days and then he would have to get his lover back home.

Yumichika really wished he had just come clean with Ikkaku about everything from the start. It would have made things so much easier. Not to mention, he and Ikkaku could have been sharing squad duty time together. Instead, the fifth seat was stationed on the complete opposite side of Eleventh Squad from Ikkaku and he was having to hear some random eleventh squad member drone on and on about his problems. Yumichika lets out a bored sigh and rolls his violet colored eyes as he tried to force himself not to say anything rude to his annoying squad mate.

Maybe, he was being silly about the whole situation. Maybe, he could still come clean and everything could go back to normal, but Yumichika knew nothing was that simple when it came to Ikkaku. He was stubborn…which Yumichika liked most of the time because it meant that his bald lover didn't take any shit from anyone, but it also meant that he planned to get his way no matter what.

The irritating squad mate was still blabbing on and on about gods knew what until the dark haired shinigami just couldn't stand it anymore, "We all have problems, pal! How about you just shut the fuck up before I give you a whole new set of problems?!"

The complaining man knew better than to talk back to a superior seated officer and quickly shuts his mouth, but the silence didn't make Yumichika feel any better. He just wanted Ikkaku to love him again and he didn't want to fight any more. The only problem…Yumichika was just as stubborn as Ikkaku…maybe even more.

Two days later, Yumichika still had not returned home. Ikkaku knew the smaller man had been there because a few more of his lover's things were gone. So he knew Yumi had been by to get more clothes and such. Ikkaku slams the closet door shut after he had peered inside to see that Yumichika's clothes were gone. Enough was enough, He decided that he didn't care if Yumichika was still mad or not. He was going to Rangiku's right this instant to bring his lover back home.

Yumichika knew it was silly to still be bunking with Rangiku, but he just couldn't bring himself to forgive Ikkaku so easily especially after he had been accused of cheating. He and Rangiku had been talking a lot about the whole situation and Yumichika decided the thing to do would be to put his foot down and make Ikkaku talk to him about wanting a baby. Today was day seven after he had taken the lozenge so he figured he would head back home tomorrow and apologize for his distant behavior and get Ikkaku in a good mood before their baby talk and the third seat would never know that Yumichika had even taken that lozenge.

He and Rangiku were looking through magazines and just chatting about nothing really when they hear a loud bang on the door, "I know yer in there, Yumi! I need to fuckin' talk to ya! Ya been gone fer fuckin' three days and enough is enough! Come to the door and fuckin' talk to me now!"

Yumichika lets out a sigh, but Rangiku stands up first, "I'll handle this and get him calmed down."

The fifth seat nods as they hear another loud bang on the door, "I'm not kiddin'! I'll bust this goddamn door down!"

The busty squad ten lieutenant pulls the door open making Ikkkau's eyes widen a bit from the shock of someone actually opening the door, "You will be doing no such thing to my door, Ikkaku! Now, I'll ask you to please calm down. If Captain Hitsugaya hears all this commotion then we will all be in trouble."

Ikkaku's face returns to its furious expression as he begins yelling again, "I don't give a flyin' fuck what that midget thinks! Now get outta my way and let me talk to Yumichika!"

Rangiku gives him a stern look as she keeps one hand on the door and places the other on her hip, "Yumichika doesn't want to talk to you. In case you haven't noticed, he's extremely angry with you at the moment."

Anger flashes in the third seat's eyes as he tries to peer around Rangiku into the room behind her, "I did notice and that's why I need to talk to him…NOW! I don't have to explain myself to ya! Bring Yumi to the door and let me fuckin' talk to him. He ain't gotta come home if he don't wanna, but let me at least talk to him!"

The blonde lieutenant continues to block the doorway as she returns his angry scowl, "I said he doesn't want to talk to you."

"It's okay, Rangiku." The petite fifth seat finally appears beside her, "I'll talk to him."

She turns slightly to be able to see Yumichika's face, but remains a barrier in front of the door, "Are you sure, Yumichika? I'll make him leave if you don't want to. You don't have to talk to him just because he's being a loud brute."

Ikkaku crosses his arms over his chest and tried to ignore the fact that he was just called a brute, "He can make his own decisions. Now let him fuckin' talk to me."

Yumichika nods as Rangiku finally removes herself from the doorway, "Okay, but if he gives you any trouble let me know."

The big-breasted lieutenant backs away from the door and disappears into the room behind it allowing Yumichika to replace her in the doorway, "What do you want, Ikkaku? Did you come to make sure I was actually here and not really somewhere cheating on you."

An embarrassed blush covers the third seat's cheeks as he looks away from his lover and down at the welcome mat under his feet, "I…I shouldn'tve said that shit. I didn't mean it, Yumi." He looks back up at his dark haired lover and sighs, "I just want ya to come back home, please. We ain't gotta have sex or nothing like that and ya can still be mad at me if ya wanna, but just please come home." He looks to the side as his blush deepens, "I miss ya, babe."

Yumichika crosses his arms over his chest and lets out a frustrated sigh, "Do you even know why I'm mad, Ikkaku?"

The bald warrior looks at Yumichika again and nods, "Yeah…sort of…it's because I never let ya talk to me about stuff that's important to ya." He rubs the back of his bald head with his hand and gives his lover a pleading look, "Just please come home, babe. We can talk about whatever ya want…just please come back home."

Yumichika didn't actually believe that Ikkaku would let him talk about having a baby, but the fifth seat could see how sincere his lover was being about missing him and he noticed the dark circles and bags under the bald man's eyes and he knew Ikkaku hadn't been sleeping much and had been drinking entirely too much.

The petite shinigami uncrosses his arms and gives his lover a small smile, "Okay, I'll come home, but this doesn't mean I forgive you just yet for accusing me of adultery."

Ikkaku nods and tried to keep the excited smile off his face, "Of course, babe, I never shoulda said that. Ya got every right to still be pissed."

"I'm just going to gather my things and I'll be right out." He watches Ikkaku nod as he shuts the door and turns to face Rangiku, "Well, I guess I'm going back home. Thanks for having me."

Rangiku stands up with a worried expression on her face, "Are you sure? You still have the rest of today before you're in the clear with that lozenge."

Yumichika nods, "I think I'll be fine. He's so upset about everything that I feel like he will be a good boy…at least for a few days."

"Okay, sweetie." She holds her arms open and he walks into her embrace, "You know you can stay here anytime, right."

He nods as he pulls away from her hug, "Yes, I know."

Rangiku helps him gather his belongings and dumps them unceremoniously into Ikkaku's arms once Yumichika is outside standing next to the apologetic third seat, "Be good you two." She gives Yumichika a smile and shoots Ikkaku a scowl before shutting the door behind her as she walks back inside.

"She's going to be irritated with you for a few days." Ikkaku nods at his lover's statement, but doesn't say anything as they head home.

When they enter their barracks, Ikkaku begins putting away Yumichika's clothes and other belongings as he tries to get back on the raven haired shinigami's good side, "So, babe, what do ya want fer dinner. I can't cook as good as you, but I can go get whatever ya want. Just name it an I'll…"

Ikkaku finds his words cut short as his lover presses his soft lips to his. Ikkaku drops the remaining items in his hand and they make a loud thump on the floor as Yumichika increases the pressure of his kiss. The third seat can feel his lover's persistent tongue pressing against his lips and he opens his mouth to allow their tongues to mingle in the slow kiss. When Yumichika finally pulls away both their faces are red. Yumichika is the first to speak after their brief kiss, "I'm sorry too. I…I shouldn't have ignored your needs. It was selfish and rude."

Ikkaku swallows the lump that had formed in his throat and nods, "It's okay, babe. We ain't gotta do nothin' ya don't want to. I just want ya here with me. That's all I swear."

Yumichika smiles at his lover's sincere words, "Can you just hold me for a bit while we make out?"

His violet eyes stare directly into Ikkaku's eyes and the third seat nods his bald head in agreement, "I sure as hell ain't gonna say no to that, babe."

Yumichika knew his suggestion was a bad idea. He should have known just 'making out' would turn into more. He should have just said he was tired and let Ikkaku think he was still mad, but he didn't want to fight with his lover any more. He wanted to be back on good terms with the larger man and a little making out never hurt anyone…that is if you kept your clothes on…which they didn't. It didn't take Ikkaku long to have Yumichika stripped naked and to be fair the fifth seat had pretty much ripped Ikkaku's clothes off too.

Nothing too bad had happened really. So far all they had done was engage in some serious heavy petting, but Yumichika would have to be blind not to notice the raging hard on his lover was sporting and he would have to be paralyzed from the waist down not to notice his own cock throbbing with want for Ikkaku.

As their intimate playing continues, Ikkaku soon finds himself face down between his beautiful lover's thighs as he sucks and fondles every inch of the fifth seat's erection and even though Yumichika knew he should stop the madness before things went to far he found that he couldn't stop. He wanted Ikkaku so badly and he knew the third seat had been wanting him this way for days. When Yumichika feels the first of Ikkaku's large fingers enter him, he doesn't stop him and lets out a wanton moan, "Ah! Yes, Ikkaku…more!"

The third seat complies with the breathy command and inserts a second finger into his writhing lover and revels in the sexy sounds the dark haired man makes, "Yer so beautiful, Yumi. I'm gonna make ya feel so good."

Yumichika spreads his legs a bit wider allowing Ikkaku more room as he feels the third finger enter him. The smaller man could feel his insides pulsing around his lover's large fingers and he knew the fingers just wouldn't be enough, but even in his sex haze he knew having sex was a bad idea until tomorrow. He doesn't, however, stop Ikkaku from thrusting those fingers in and out of his hole at a fast wonderfully friction-filled pace.

With his free hand, Ikkaku grips his own erection and tugs it a few times to release a bit of the pressure he felt, but he didn't want to release using his own hand, "Hey, babe, why don't ya turn over and let me show ya how sorry I am fer being such an ass?"

The fifth seat's heart pounds nervously in his chest. He should have known all of this would eventually lead to that, but it all felt so good that he didn't know how to stop it. He feels Ikkaku's fingers leave him and he suddenly felt achingly empty. He nods and rolls over onto his stomach before lifting himself up on his hands and knees on all fours, "Um, baby?"

"Yeah?" Ikkaku's voice sounded a bit distant, but Yumichika knew it was because the third seat had left the futon to get the oil from the night stand, "Somethin' wrong?"

Yumichika wracks his brain trying to think of something to say…anything to stop what was about to happen, "Do we have any…condoms?"

He hears the shuffling of the night stand contents halt for a moment before he hears Ikkaku's confused voice, "What for?"

"Well, I just remembered that the captain is going to do some night training with the new guys and he asked me to look after Yachiru for a little while this evening." It was true. The captain had asked him to do that and Yumichika had actually forgotten until now.

"Okay." The third seat's voice is still filled with confusion as he responds again, "What does that have to do with condoms?"

Yumichika feels Ikkaku's weight shift the futon and he knows his lover is behind him again with the oil ready in hand, "You know how long it takes for me to get cleaned up after you…cum inside me. It's already getting dark out and I don't want to be late."

Ikkaku is quiet for a few seconds as he unstoppers the oil, "I don't think we got any condoms. Hell, we ain't had none in a while." The third seat shrugs his shoulders, "I'll just pull out right before, okay?"

Oh shit! This was bad. Yumichika could feel his heart beating fast in his chest and he didn't know what else to do. He couldn't stop Ikkaku now! If the third seat was mad before he would never get over it this time, "W-will you actually pull out on time, Ikkaku? You've told me that before and…"

"I forgot one time when I said I would." He lets out a derisive chuckle, "I've pulled out on time before remember? Before squad duty a bunch of times." Ikkaku slicks up his own cock with the oil allowing a moan of pleasure to slip passed his lips from his own touch, "Just lighten up a bit, Yumi."

Yumichika swallows down his anxiety and tries to make his voice sound normal, "I…I guess you're right, baby. I know I can trust you."

"That's the spirit, Yumi." He pushes a lone finger into the tightness of his lover's ass once more just to spread the oil a little bit before gripping Yumichika's ass and gradually sliding his pulsing cock deep inside his petite lover.

Yumichika would be lying if he said Ikkaku's cock didn't feel amazing as it filled and stretched him. It had been far too long since he and Ikkaku had been together like this and soon the fifth seat forgets his anxiety and trusts that his lover would pull out like he promised.

"Oh, shit! Yumi, you…ah…ya feel so…so fuckin' good!" Ikkaku wasted no time once he was buried deep inside his lover to begin pounding into him at a rough pace. He knew Yumichika didn't mind it being rough. The third seat snaps his hips back and forth letting a moan escape his throat every time his cock was engulfed by the twitching hole of the man beneath him.

It all felt so good that Yumichika actually had tears in his violet eyes from the sheer pleasure of feeling his lover moving inside him. He had absolutely no idea how he'd managed to keep Ikkaku out of him for the last six days. The fifth seat's bliss was so absolute that when Ikkaku hit his sweet spot he gasped at just how much better the experience was becoming, "Ah…yes! Don't stop! Ikkaku…oh, h-harder! Ah!"

Yumichika was close and he knew with just a few more accurately aimed jabs at his sweet spot he would be cumming all over the futon. Ikkaku continues to plunge into the dark haired shinigami with as much force as he can manage and revels in the wonderful sounds his lover was making each time his cock pounded into his most sensitive spot, "Go ahead and…and cum, babe. I know yer…close!"

The tears of pleasure were streaming down the fifth seat's face as Ikkaku pounds into him once more with perfect aim causing Yumichika to cry out his bliss as his climax erupts onto the sheets of the futon. It had been so long and it felt so good that he hadn't even needed Ikkaku to touch him anywhere else. Yumichika's pleasure soon came to a screeching halt however, when he feels Ikkaku jerk behind him and he feels the third seat's essence fill him to the brim with built up passion.

Ikkaku lets out a few pent up groans as his hips continue to rock slightly as every ounce of his orgasm spills into his lover. Yumichika's heart stops as his breathing catches in his throat. He should have known better. Why did he ever think he could trust Ikkaku to pull out. The fifth seat tries to even out the sound of his voice as he addresses Ikkaku, "Um, Ikkaku…did you just…finish inside me?"

Ikkaku's mind snaps back to reality as he pulls out of his lover with a wet sound, "Oh, shit! Yumi, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…it just felt so good and it had been so long that I just couldn't stop."

Tears begin forming in the smaller man's eyes, but this time it's out of fear instead of joy, "Shit, Ikkaku! You promised you would pull out!" Yumichika turns around to face his lover and begins wiping at himself with the already soiled sheets, "You told me you would remember!"

"I'm sorry, Yumi!" A very apologetic expression appears on the bald man's face, "I really didn't mean to. I'll tell ya what, I'll look after the lieutenant tonight. I'll tell the captain ya weren't feeling well and that way ya won't have to rush." He gives his petite lover a hopeful look, "I really am sorry, babe."

Yumichika couldn't tell Ikkaku why he was really upset by all this so he just nods his head numbly, "O-okay…I'm going to jump in the bath then." The fifth seat tried his best to act nonchalant about the whole situation, but he knew if he just continued to sit there looking at Ikkaku and feeling his lover's essence leak out of him he would start crying like a baby, "You'll need to look after the lieutenant in about twenty minutes."

Then without waiting for a reply, Yumichika stands up from the futon and makes his way to the bathroom without another word to his lover. Ikkaku only nods as he watches his lover disappear into the bathroom. The third seat then begins redressing in order to meet up with the lieutenant on time.

Yumichika was a great actor, but he only hoped that Ikkaku wasn't suspicious of his behavior. He also hoped that his night of pleasure didn't turn into a tell all for his lies. He just didn't know what he would do if Ikkaku left him…or worse…if Ikkaku left him and their baby.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading!**


	10. Bittersweet

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Hello, I am back with chapter 10! I told you I was going to try my best to keep up with this fic from now on. Special thanks time! Hgu for reviewing, RSK1066 for the follow, antoniquedarling for the follow, EzraTheBlue for the review, and kyuumihaira for the review!  
**

**Thank everyone!**

**P.S. Today is my birthday!**

* * *

Ikkaku kept his word and looked after the lieutenant without complaint and Captain Zaraki didn't question it as long as someone was looking after her while he was away. Yumichika tried his best to relax after Ikkaku left for the night, but he just couldn't shake the feeling that he could quite possibly be pregnant. The lozenge was supposed to lose potency the farther into the week since it was ingested, but nevertheless, it was still active regardless of what day it was. The fifth seat didn't even have a clue as to when he would know if he were pregnant or not.

That, in a nutshell, was the main reason for his panic. If he could know one way or the other then maybe he could decide what action needed to be taken. Unfortunately, even with all the technology available there was still no way to determine if he was pregnant until the little egg either implanted or didn't and that would take days. Yumichika lets out a nervous sigh as he sinks down farther into the tub. If he was pregnant what would happen? Should he tell Ikkaku that he may be pregnant and go ahead and face the wrath of his partner or just wait it out. It seemed foolish to worry Ikkaku with such things considering he may not even be pregnant, but then again if he was pregnant and the third seat had no idea…wouldn't that be even more foolish?

Tears stream down the dark haired shinigami's face as his mind feels ripped apart by the two choices, but his mind wasn't nearly as upset as his heart was. He was so conflicted with what he wanted that he didn't really know how to feel. He wanted to be pregnant because that is what he had wanted for a little over a year, but he knew now that this isn't the way he wanted it to happen. He didn't want Ikkaku to leave him or worse not trust him ever again.

Yumichika slips down underneath the water allowing the warmth to envelope his entire body. What would be going on nine months from now? Would he and Ikkaku have a happy family together or would he be alone as a single parent? Better yet, what would be happening a few weeks from now? Would he be pregnant? Would he truly be happy about it if he was? Could he be happy without Ikkaku by his side?

The fifth seat emerges from the water with his dark locks dripping from the bath water. He lets out another sigh as he stands up from the tub to dry himself off. He would just have to cross any of those bridges when he came to them and hope for the best. After he dried off and changed into his pajamas he decides he might as well try and get some sleep. His dreams make him restless though and when Ikkaku returns later in the evening he doesn't stop the third seat from making love to him again before they both drift off into sleep.

The next day, Yumichika finds time to slip away from Ikkaku and squad duty and makes his way to Squad Ten where he barges into the office and makes his way immediately to Rangiku's desk. He slams his hands down on the flat surface as he looks into her blue eyes, "I need to talk to you now!"

She flinches at his sudden appearance and drops the magazine she had been flipping through, "What's going on?"

The two suddenly hear the Tenth Captain's throat clear and they turn to look at the shorter shinigami. Yumichika's face tints red as he realizes how rude he had been by just barging in and not even knocking, "I apologize, Captain Hitsugaya. I should have knocked first, but I desperately need to borrow your lieutenant for a few minutes. If that's okay?"

The white haired captain places his pen down on the desk top and crosses his arms over his chest, "Well, I don't see why not." He gives his lieutenant a scowl, "She hasn't done any work today whatsoever so I can't see why a few more minutes of nothing would hurt."

An offended expression appears on the blonde's face and she stands up and flips her hair over her shoulder, "Captain, how could you say that?!" Her offended expression quickly transforms into a pout, "I made coffee this morning."

Toshiro rolls his eyes and picks his pen up again, "Well, pardon my earlier statement. You made coffee and then filed your nails and looked through a magazine. What a stressful life you must lead." He looks away from his lazy lieutenant and stares at the eleventh squad member, "You may borrow her for a few minutes and while you're at it try to convince her to do a little work."

Yumichika nods, "Yes, Captain. Thank you, sir."

The fifth seat then grabs Rangiku's hand and rushes her out of the Tenth Squad office and out into the sunlight, "Yumichika, what in the world is going on? Why are you acting so spastic?"

Yumichika doesn't release her hand until they're partially hidden behind a bush and before he speaks he looks around and tries to sense if anyone else is around, "I really messed up yesterday and now I…I don't know what to do!"

The tenth lieutenant's first facial expression is one of confusion, but it quickly morphs into a terrified look of realization as she grabs Yumichika by the shoulders in tight grip, "You didn't! Yumichika Ayasegawa, please tell me you didn't have sex with Ikkaku yesterday?!"

Yumichika's violet eyes widen as he looks around again to make sure no one could hear them, "Shhhh! I'd rather the whole Seireitei didn't know my personal business!" He looks down at the ground as his cheeks turn pink from shame and embarrassment, but he eventually nods his head, "But…yes, we did have sex yesterday."

Rangiku releases her hold on the fifth seat's shoulders and paces a few steps behind the bush they were hidden behind, "Oh my Gods, Yumichika! You only had a few hours left! How could you do that! Have you gone insane? Did you have a stroke? Doing drugs or something? What?!"

The eleventh squad member squats to the ground and covers his face with his hands, "I didn't intend for that to happen, but…" He looks up at Rangiku with a sad look on his face, "But, I was so tired of fighting and I didn't want Ikkaku to be mad at me any more. We were only supposed to kiss a little bit, but I guess we were so amped up from not being together for so long that it just happened."

She lowers herself down to the ground as well to be able to look Yumichika in the eye as they were speaking, "Okay, listen…don't freak out."

He gives her an incredulous look as his butt finally meets the ground and he sits as a defeated sigh escapes his lips, "How can I not freak out?!" He looks around again in his paranoia that someone could be listening, "What if I'm…pregnant?"

Rangiku also lets out a sigh as she shakes her head, "There is that possibility, but you may not be. Didn't you say that the lozenge's potency wore off a little more each day?"

Yumichika nods, "Yes, that's what Captain Ukitake told everyone when they were curious about it and Captain Kurotsuchi confirmed that for the Head Captain when it all started happening."

"Okay." She grabs his hands in hers and squeezes them lightly, "I know it's easier said than done, but there is no need to freak out just yet when you may not even be pregnant."

The fifth seat swallows down the nausea he feels creeping up his throat at the thought of what would happen if he was pregnant, "B-but what if I am?"

She gives her friend a small smile and tries her best to sound positive, "I know Ikkaku loves you. He may not always say or do the right things and he may not think things through before he makes a fool of himself, but he does love you. If you are pregnant, I know he will come to understand. He's going to be shocked and upset since you didn't tell him about all this before it happened, but I don't think he's the type of guy to run from his responsibilities."

Yumichika trains his watery eyes on her face and as much as he didn't want to start crying again he finds that he can't stop the tears from spilling down his cheeks, "What if he never trusts me again and…and accepts our child, but…but decides he doesn't need me anymore? What if he leaves the relationship?"

Rangiku looks down in an attempt to escape Yumichika's worried gaze, "If you are pregnant you will just have to explain to him why you did what you did and if he's still set on leaving then…then as much I know you would hate that you will just have to move on." She looks up at his wet face again and frowns, "You managed to survive without him for years before you met and you can do it again."

The blonde's words didn't do anything to calm the fifth seat's nerves and he shakes his head, "But, this isn't what I wanted. I wanted us to be a happy little family and take photos together and be happy. I never wanted things to be this way."

Rangiku tries to smile as she stands up and offers her hand to him, "He may surprise you, sweetie." Yumichika eventually places his hand in hers and she helps up to a standing position again, "He does love you. He loves you more than he lets on to the rest of us."

Yumichika nods as he brushes his backside off with his hands, "But, you'll be there to help me no matter what?"

She gives him an understanding smile and wraps her arms around him, "You know I will, sweetie. I'll even babysit for you."

He lets out a soft chuckle as he returns the hug, "Thank you, Rangiku."

"Any time." She releases her embrace and begins walking in the opposite direction of the Squad Ten office.

Yumichika gives her a confused look, "Shouldn't you get back to work?"

"Oh, I will, but first I have to get the Captain some candy so he won't be so mad at me." She smiles as she begins walking again, "If he's distracted with candy then I can finish looking at my magazine in peace."

Yumichika can't help the smile that forms on his face as he watches his busty friend walk away. He did find some solace in the fact that whatever happened he would have a friend to help him through it…even if that friend wasn't Ikkaku.

Six Weeks Later

Yumichika had been waking up with a sour stomach the last few days and as much as he wanted to contribute the queasy feeling to something he'd eaten, he was very fearful that he was indeed pregnant. He hadn't actually thrown up yet, but he had started becoming extremely tired about two weeks ago and it seemed that no matter how much he slept it never did any good. He found himself falling asleep over his paperwork and even once while looking after Yachiru. He was also very bloated and tried his hardest not to pass gas in front of anyone, but that was becoming more and more difficult to do as the weeks went on.

He was still in denial though and refused to go the Fourth Squad or the Twelfth Squad to find out if he actually was pregnant and his days were spent trying to keep Ikkaku from noticing the subtle changes he was going through. That is until this morning.

This morning a wave of nausea hit him with such force that for a moment he was afraid he wouldn't make it to the bathroom before he spewed his dinner all over the bedroom floor. He did manage to make it to the toilet…barely and it seemed as if the vomiting would never end. When he was finally able to lift his face from the toilet, he turns to see Ikkaku standing in the doorway, "Babe, what the fuck did ya eat last night? Are ya okay?"

Yumichika stands beside the toilet trembling from the force of his morning sickness and only stares at his lover for a long time. When he doesn't respond to Ikkaku's question, the third seat makes his way into the bathroom to stand next to him, "Are ya gonna be okay, babe? Ya don't look so good and yer white a sheep."

The bald shinigami brings his hand up to feel his lover's forehead, but Yumichika barely registered the touch as a feeling of dread flows through him. He finally pushes Ikkaku's hand away and tries to act unconcerned with the morning's events, "It's nothing, Ikkaku. I just ate too much last night. I'll be fine."

Ikkaku watches as his lover walks to the sink and begins rinsing his mouth out with water, "Are ya sure? You've been sleeping a lot lately and you've been…kinda…grumpy."

Yumichika directs a hateful glare at his lover before wiping his mouth on a towel, "I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping well at night and it's making me tired during the day."

The third seat gives his lover a skeptical look, but shrugs his shoulders, "If you say so, babe." He moves to stand behind the smaller man and begins massaging his lover's shoulders, "Since we're awake and have night shift squad duty do ya wanna go get breakfast with me?"

As much as the fifth seat didn't feel like eating anything, he finds himself nodding his head, "Okay, just let me freshen up a bit." Ikkaku nods as he leaves the bathroom. Yumichika braces himself against the sink and lets out a sigh. How was ever going to tell Ikkaku he was pregnant?

Yumichika gets his food first and finds an empty table in the Squad Eleven mess hall and he waits for Ikkaku to join him. He looks at his food and feels his stomach churning just from the smell of the eggs and bacon wafting off his plate. He groans when he spots Ikkaku coming his way with a tray full of pancakes, sausage, bacon, eggs, and hash browns all smothered with syrup and grease. The fifth seat swallows down his nausea and tries his best to smile as his lover takes his seat, "Ikkaku, how in Soul Society do you expect to eat all that? Didn't you go a little overboard?"

"Pshh, nah!" The third seat begins shoveling the syrup-laden pancakes into his mouth and Yumichika once again swallows the sick feeling down and looks away from his lover, but the smells of all the food in the mess hall weren't as easy to ignore.

He hadn't even touched his own food, but he found he just couldn't take the torture any longer and stands up, "I'm done."

Ikkaku halts in his eating just as he's about to shove three strips of bacon into his mouth at once and gives his lover a very puzzled expression, "What do ya mean yer done? Ya didn't eat anything."

Yumichika can feel the acid creeping up his throat and places a hand over his mouth, "I guess my stomach just isn't over being sick from this morning yet." He tries his best to give his bald lover a convincing smile, "But, finish yours and I'll be outside waiting for you."

Ikkaku gives the smaller man another bewildered look as he finally shoved the bacon into his mouth, "Why ya gotta wait outside. Ya know ya can wait in here even if yer not eatin'?"

The raven haired shinigami can feel himself getting light headed and he knew any minute the rest of last night's dinner would be erupting from his mouth if he didn't get out of the smelly mess hall, "I…I'm cold in here. I'm just going to wait in the sunshine for you."

Ikkaku shrugs and nods as he continues shoveling food into his mouth and Yumichika hastily makes his way outside leaving his tray on the table. He knew Ikkaku would clean his tray as well when he was done with his own food. As soon as the fifth seat makes his way outside, he finds a clump of bushes and expels the rest of last night's meal into the foliage. He was really glad that Ikkaku didn't see that.

He straightens himself up and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and looks around to make sure no one saw him puking in the bushes and lets out another sigh. He was most definitely pregnant. As much as he wanted to deny it he just couldn't pretend like he didn't know anymore, but he couldn't go to Squad Four before talking to Ikkaku about it all.

He begins to feel nauseated again, but this time it's not from morning sickness, but from the fear of coming clean to Ikkaku. He lets out a groan as tries to remember Rangiku's schedule. He was definitely going to need a friend therapy session soon. He places a hand on his abdomen and can't help but feel a little excitement mixed with all the anxiety he was experiencing. The revelation that he was pregnant was bittersweet. Very very bittersweet and he found it a tough flavor to swallow.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading and hopefully I can get the next chapter out as quickly as I did this one!**


	11. Baby On Board

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**Here I am with Chapter 11! Not much to say before hand. I will be out of town this weekend so I may or may not get the next chapter up before I go. Anyway, special thanks time! kyuumihaira for reviewing, EzraTheBlue for reviewing, and 13emstr for the fave!**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Yumichika finally found himself alone after spending hours with Ikkaku. He was glad that his lover wanted to spend time with him for their night shift squad duty, but the fifth seat found himself exhausted and nauseated for most of the day and he just wanted to talk to Rangiku about his possible…pretty much definite pregnancy. Yumichika managed to lose Ikkaku about an hour before their squad duty was set to begin when Yachiru ran through and stole the third seats shoes. The bald man had run after her to retrieve his shoes and that was the last Yumichika had seen of either of them.

The raven haired man lets out a deep sigh as he knocks on Rangiku's door. Maybe she would have some idea of how to help him or at least listen to him complain for a little bit. After two knocks she comes to the door, "Hey, Yumichika. I wasn't expecting you. Don't you have squad duty tonight?"

He nods and tries to keep the nervous tears from leaking down his face, "Yes, but I still have an hour before I report to duty." He swallows down his anxiousness and looks at her again, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, but maybe you could come back when you have more time." She frowns at her friend's pale complexion, "You seem like you need more than an hour."

Yumichika runs a trembling hand through his hair, "I just need to talk to you, Rangiku, please."

"Okay, but…"

Yumichika doesn't give her a chance to finish her sentence as he pushes passed her into the room behind the doorway, "No buts, Rangiku…this is serious."

She closes the door and turns to face him, "I understand that, but maybe…"

He shakes his head cutting her off again, "Just listen! I'm in big trouble here."

"Yumichika, I really think…"

The tears finally spill from his violet eyes as he blurts out his reason for coming by, "I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant. I'm like 99.9 percent sure."

A masculine voice can be heard behind the fifth seat and a tinge of shock can be heard, "What? You're pregnant!"

Yumichika turns around to face the ninth lieutenant with wide eyes, "Shuhei! What the hell are you doing here?!" He then turns back to look at Rangiku with betrayal evident on his face, "Why didn't you tell me he was here?! You know I'm too distraught to sense someone else right now!"

Rangiku runs up and hugs Yumichika to her as she sees the flood of tears stain his face, "Shh, shh…I was trying to tell you, but you just kept interrupting me, sweetie. Shuhei came by to bring back some paperwork that I forgot to sign and he was in the bathroom."

Shuhei watches the two of them hug for a moment before he begins asking questions, "Wait just a minute! Yumichika is pregnant! What the hell?! Does Ikkaku know?!"

Yumichika breaks free of Rangiku's embrace and rounds on Shuhei, "You better forget everything you just heard if you know what's good for you!"

The ninth lieutenant puts his hands up in front of him in a gesture of surrender, "Hey, Ayasegawa, calm down…I'm not trying to spread anything around." He backs up a few steps as he puts his hands back down by his side, "I just didn't know you and Ikkaku were trying. That's all."

Yumichika frowns as he plops down into the nearest chair, "Ikkaku doesn't know."

A puzzled expression appears on Shuhei's face as he ponders Yumichika's words, "What do you mean he doesn't know? There's a whole procedure you gotta go through and…"

"I skipped all that, okay!" The fifth seat lets out a worried sigh, "He doesn't know anything about it. I took the lozenge and we had sex and he doesn't know I did what I did."

Shuhei continues to look more and more confused with each word out of Yumuchika's mouth, "But, how did you get the lozenge if you didn't do through all the signatures and approval?"

An expression of realization forms on Rangiku's face as she listens to Shuhei's question, "Hey, yeah…where did you get that lozenge? I know Captain Kurotsuchi will do anything for a test subject, but after what happened with Captain Ukitake I would have thought he would have known better than to…"

"None of that matters!" Yumichika stands up and begins pacing the room after cutting off the two lieutenant's questions, "I could be pregnant and Ikkaku has no clue and I have no idea what in the hell I'm going to say to him!" He then turns to look at Shuhei with a deadly serious expression on his face, "You had better not tell anyone anything you've heard here today…not even Izuru!"

A pink blush spreads across the ninth lieutenant's cheeks at the mention of Izuru, "Pshh, why would I tell Izuru anyway? I mean it's not like anything is going on…we're just friends."

Yumichika and Rangiku each give Shuhei a disbelieving look before the fifth seat responds, "Please, save your denial for someone else, Shuhei. I haven't got time to argue with you about this right now."

Rangiku nods and lets a quick smirk of amusement flicker across her face, "Have you and Izuru even had sex yet?"

Shuhei's mouth drops open in offence, but he only offers a weak reply, "I…we…I don't know why you would ask that?"

Yumichika stops pacing and stomps his feet on the floor a few times for emphasis, "We can discuss Shuhei and Izuru's sexual frustration at another time!"

Shuhei's face becomes impossibly redder, but Rangiku grips Yumichika by the shoulders and tries to reign the conversation back in, "Listen to me, sweetie, you have to come clean with him. You can't hide what's going on any more. If you are pregnant then you're going to start having more obvious symptoms and your appearance will begin changing before you know it. In fact, the sooner you come clean to him about everything the better."

The fifth seat begins hyperventilating as he tries to speak, "But, but…what if he leaves me or doesn't want the baby or…"

The tenth lieutenant begins shaking him roughly as Shuhei looks on in stunned silence, "None of that matters right now. What's important is that you come clean and make an appointment with the fourth. You need prenatal care as soon as possible. Regardless of what Ikkaku wants you'll want to have a healthy baby."

When she notices his depressed expression is still in place, she brings him into her embrace again and tightly squeezes him to her, "He loves you and he's going to be upset, but can you really blame him?" She feels the petite shinigami's head shake against her shoulder and she continues, "He may leave for a little while and he's probably going to yell and say some things he doesn't mean, but I really think he'll come back and at least try to understand why you did what you did eventually. I really do believe that."

More tears leak from Yumichika's eyes as Rangiku continues to hug him, "I…I hope you're right." He sniffles a few times before leaving her embrace. He then wipes his eyes on his sleeve and looks at the clock hanging on the wall, "C-can I stay here if he…"

Rangiku nods not needing her friend to finish his question, "You know you can."

Yumichika steels his resolve and wipes his eyes a few more times before standing up straight, "I have to go or I'll be late for squad duty. Thank you for the talk, Rangiku." He turns to look at Shuhei with a glare, "I'm serious, Hisagi, if you breathe one word of this it's your ass!"

Before Shuhei can respond, Yumichika is out the door and headed to meet up with Ikkaku for their shared night shift squad duty. He knew he needed to come clean, but he just didn't know when he would work up the courage to tell his lover how deceitful he'd been.

Yumichika acted as normal as he possibly could during his shared squad duty with Ikkaku. He was dead tired and only wanted to go home and sleep for eight hundred years without being disturbed. He knew Ikkaku noticed his lethargy, but the bald man doesn't mention it and tries to keep his opinions to himself. The fifth seat knew the best time to reveal his pregnancy suspicions would be the next day when they were both off duty, but when the next day arrived he found that he just didn't have the courage to admit it to his lover. Ikkaku did let him sleep most of the day without question which Yumichika greatly appreciated and the third seat only asked if he was okay when he rushed from the futon more than once to throw up. Yumichika knew Ikkaku wasn't an idiot and would eventually question the frequent vomiting, but for now he wasn't confronted.

7 Weeks

A week later, Yumichika still hadn't confessed to Ikkaku that he was most definitely pregnant and as he jumped from the futon to rid his stomach of his last meal the third seat makes his way into the bathroom with a concerned expression on his face. Ikkaku waits for his lover to flush the toilet and straighten up before speaking to him, "Somethin's the matter with ya and I don't usually say this, but I think…I think ya need to go to the fourth and get checked out. It ain't right fer someone to throw up every day, Yumi."

Yumichika wipes his mouth on a towel and shakes his head, "I don't need to get checked out, Ikkaku, I'm fine."

"Yer not fine!" Ikkaku makes his way farther into the bathroom and grabs the smaller man's wrist in his large hand as if to make sure Yumichika was actually paying attention, "Ya sleep all the damn time and ya barely eat anything, but ya throw up all the time." He shoots his lover another worried look, "Ya ain't fine, dammit!"

The fifth seat could see the concern shining in Ikkaku's eyes and couldn't help but notice the worried set of his lover's jaw. The raven haired shinigami lets out a defeated sigh and decides that he simply can't keep the truth from his lover any longer. He gently pulls his wrist free of Ikkaku's grasp and looks down at the floor, "We need to talk, Ikkaku."

Ikkaku shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest, "We ain't talkin' about nothin' until you agree to go to the fourth and find out what's the matter with ya."

Yumichika can feel the tears prickling in the corner of his eyes, but he continues to stare at the bathroom floor, "I don't need to go to the fourth. I…I know what's wrong with me and being tired and nauseous are common."

The bald shinigami gives the other man a very puzzled expression that the fifth seat catches as he finally looks up from the floor, "What do ya mean? Yer not makin' any sense, Yumi."

Yumichika swallows thickly and he clenches his hands into fists to try and stop them from shaking, "I think you should sit down and we should talk."

A terrified look briefly passes across the third seat's face as he backs into the bedroom, "Are ya sick? Is it serious? Are ya gonna…die? Yumi, what the fucks goin' on?"

The petite shinigami blinks a few times to prevent his tears from falling as he shakes his head, "No, nothing like that, but please just sit. You're only making it worse."

Without even looking where he's going, Ikkaku backs into a cushioned chair inside their bedroom, "Just spit it out, Yumichika, yer killing me right now."

Yumichika licks his lips out of nervousness before letting out a loud sigh, "I am pretty much positive that I'm…" He looks away from his lover for a split second, but forces himself to look Ikkaku in the eyes. The third seat deserved to be looked in the eye, "I'm…pregnant."

The third seat remains sitting with a blank expression on his face, but he never looks away from his lover's wet, violet eyes. Ikkaku keeps silent for such a long time that Yumichika was beginning to think he hadn't understood until the bald man finally speaks, "Come again? What?"

Yumichika bites his lower lip to keep from sobbing and attempts to steady his voice as he repeats himself, "I'm pregnant." This time Ikkaku stays silent for so long that the fifth seat does question him, "Say something, Ikkaku. Yell at me! Tell me I'm stupid! Just do something instead of sitting there!"

"The fuck am I supposed to say?" Ikkaku stands up but doesn't advance toward the now crying fifth seat, "Yer standing there telling me yer pregnant, but yet I ain't signed no goddamn paperwork and I ain't talked to no damn body about getting approval fer this shit! So you tell me what the fuck I'm supposed to say because technically it's fuckin' impossible fer ya to be pregnant!" The bald man balls his hands into fists at his side and paces slightly in front the chair he had previously been sitting in, "I need fer ya to explain yerself and ya had better do it quick."

Yumichika swallows again trying to wet his dry throat, but it doesn't do any good and more tears spill from his eyes as he looks at his lover's furious face, "I…I stole the lozenge from Kuchiki Manor. They had an extra one and I…I took it about six months ago. I had every intention of returning it, but…but I just couldn't give up on the idea of you and I having a child together." He lets out a frustrated sigh and wipes at his eyes and nose with the towel he was still clutching from when he'd thrown up earlier, "I kept it in my pocket and I kept telling myself that I would make you talk to me about everything, but every time I tried you…you shut me down. So one night I was feeling really upset about the whole thing and I…I ate the lozenge."

The fifth seat lets out a loud sob and sniffles as he wipes his face with the towel again. He didn't dare look at Ikkaku's face because he didn't want to lose his nerve now that he'd started his tale of deceit, "I knew it was a mistake the second it dissolved all the way, but what could I do at that point? I had done something terrible and there was no turning back. So, I tried to avoid you, but that only caused us to fight and on the last day of the lozenge's potency you came and convinced me to come back home." He finally looks at his lover and instantly regrets it as the look of disgust coming from Ikkaku washes over him, "I'm sorry I lied to you! I'm sorry that I didn't just come clean with you! I'm sorry that things happened this way! Please, Ikkaku, don't hate me!"

The third seat begins pacing back and forth in front the chair and refuses to look at his crying lover as he shakes his head in disbelief, "Yer gonna stand there and tell me yer sorry after everything ya just told me?" He finally looks at Yumichika with a hurt expression on his face, "Not only did ya lie to me, but ya stole from our friend and ya went against procedure. Now, ya know I ain't no stickler fer rules, but this…this shit is serious." Ikkaku continues pacing as he rubs the back of his bald head with his palm, "This ain't something we can just gloss over and say oops and then act like it never happened." He stops his pacing and points at the fifth seats abdomen, "If ya are pregnant then that's a fucking kid in there…my fucking kid! But, I didn't have no say in the matter! I didn't even know I was making the little brat! That shit ain't right, Yumi!" He finally looks at the floor to avoid watching Yumichika cry any longer, "How long have ya been lying to me? How far along are ya anyway, huh?"

Yumichika finds his tears drying up with each angry word from Ikkaku, "Don't you stand there and act all innocent, Ikkaku. I have tried desperately to talk to you about us starting a family for over a year! Every time I bring it up you yell and tell me I'm stupid! Then you go off and get plastered and avoid me for days!" He throws the towel on the floor and makes his way closer to his angry lover, "What choice did you give me? I'm not trying to make light of what I've done because I regret every day lying to you and I know that if I am pregnant then I'm in big trouble when the Head Captain finds out, but I do not for once regret this baby!" Fresh tears spill from his eyes, but he finds that these tears are being shed out of anger, "You can hate me if you want to and you can even walk away from it all if you want to, but don't you ever blame this one!" He points to his abdomen as he speaks, "It's not this one's fault and this one belongs to you too! We made it together and that…that should make you happy, but for some reason starting a family with me in the last thing you ever wanted to do." He takes in a shaky breath before continuing, "I'm sorry I lied to you and I don't blame you for being angry with me, but don't you dare act like you had nothing to do with my decision."

When the third seat doesn't respond, Yumichika speaks again, "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Ikkaku shakes his head, "No, I ain't because I promised myself I wouldn't ever call you some of the things I wanna call ya right now." He begins walking out of the bedroom with Yumichika at his heels, "I can't talk to ya right now. I…I can't even look at ya right now."

He begins slipping his shoes on making Yumichika's anger dissolve and his fear return, "Where are you going?"

"Out." Ikkaku opens the door, "I need some time away from ya and I don't know when I'll be back. It may be tomorrow…hell, it may be months."

Yumichika forces down his tears and nausea with his next words, "But, we…we need to talk about this."

The bald shinigami finally looks at his lover again, "We're gonna talk, but it ain't gonna be today."

Ikkaku makes his way out the door with Yumichika still following him, "Ikkaku, wait!" The third seat stops walking, but doesn't turn around. Yumichika takes this as silent permission to say whatever it was, "You don't have to and I certainly wouldn't blame you if you decided not to, but…but, I made an appointment at the fourth for next week…Tuesday. You wanted to know…I'll be eight weeks then. If you want to come and check on the baby you can." Silent tears flow from his eyes, "You may not want me anymore, but I'm not going to deny you the chance to know your child."

Ikkaku remains facing away from Yumichika as he speaks his next words, "I'll think about it." He begins walking again and was very thankful that Yumichika missed the tears staining his own cheeks.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading!  
**


	12. Not Just Any Baby

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**I'm back with chapter 12. Sorry it has taken a bit longer to update. I went to Dallas, TX this weekend for a Supernatural Convention and I didn't have any time to write. Also, I have finally found a new job. I will be working as a teller at a bank. This may make my updates a bit slower because I won't have as much free time, but don't worry I will not give up on this fic.  
**

**Special thanks: MrsUryuuIshida for the fave and review, Blackrove for the review, and kyuumihaira for the review! Thanks everyone!**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Ikkaku makes his way around the corner and finally hears the door to his Yumichika's room slam. The third seat then slides down the wall and sinks to the ground. He usually never cried and if he did he damn sure didn't let anyone see it…but his tears weren't necessarily out of anger. No, his tears were out of sadness and fear. He also never liked to admit to himself much less anyone else that he was afraid, but he was. He was sad because even though Yumichika had gone behind his back and made a life changing decision without him, he still hated to see his best friend and lover upset. He loved Yumichika more than anyone and he knew deep down that Yumichika had wanted a baby for a while now. Why had he been so closed minded about the whole situation? Why couldn't he have just sat down with the fifth seat and at least talked it all out?

The answers to those questions were simple. He was scared…no, not just scared…he was terrified. Not a lot of things terrified Ikkaku, but becoming a father and changing the only relationship he'd ever truly been happy in made him extremely nervous. He was going to be a father and his and Yumichika's relationship was going to change whether he liked it or was ready for it or not. The bald man lets out an exhausted sigh as he wipes this face on his sleeve and stands up from the ground. There was only one thing left to do…get drunk.

Unfortunately on his way to the bar he bumps into Renji holding a sleeping five and half month old Takahiro, "Hey, man…where ya headed in such a hurry?"

Ikkaku lets out an irritated sigh as Renji begins walking his way. Renji was one of his very best friends, but right now he didn't feel like talking to anyone, "Nowhere…I'm just…I just need to clear my head a bit."

Upon closer inspection, the red head notices how red his friend's eyes are and the agitated set to his jaw, "What's going on? Are ya okay?"

"Nothin's goin on." He attempts to walk away, but the sixth lieutenant uses his free hand that is not holding the baby to grab Ikkaku's wrist.

"Dude, your reiatsu is all over the place agitated and furious." He gives the third seat a concerned look, "You're not okay. What happened?"

Ikkaku snatches his wrist from Renji's grasp making Takahiro stir slightly, but Renji's mini-me quickly falls back to sleep, "Just leave me alone, okay! I…I just wanna be alone!"

The tattooed shinigami shifts his baby a little before addressing Ikkaku again, "Alone to do what? Get wasted?" He shakes his head making his crimson ponytail swish, "What good is that gonna do ya? When ya sober up whatever is going on it's still gonna be going on and all you're gonna have to show for it is a hang over."

The older man glares at Renji with a look of complete fury, "This ain't got shit to do with ya. So fuck off and let me do what in the hell I need to do!"

Renji stares at Ikkaku's face for a moment before speaking again in a level tone, "This is about Yumichika isn't it?"

A sullen expression takes over the third seat's features as he looks away from his friend and the baby in his arms. For a split second he pictured himself carrying his and Yumichika's baby, but quickly clears the image from his mind, "So what if it is?"

"The two of ya have been fighting a lot lately." He gives his friend a sympathetic look before speaking again, "I just don't want to see anything bad happen to your relationship. Ya really need to sit down and talk whatever is going on out together."

Ikkaku lets out a derisive snort before looking away from his redheaded friend, "What's the point in talkin when he already got exactly what he wanted?"

Renji's tattooed eyebrows come together in confusion after hearing the fifth seat's words, "What do ya mean by that?"

The bald shinigami returns his gaze to the scarlet haired lieutenant with worry and resentment in his dark eyes, "Yumichika just told me that…that he's pregnant."

Renji is silent for the few moments it takes Ikkaku to cross his arms over his chest and look at the ground with a scowl on his face. When the sixth lieutenant regains his voice it holds a tone of puzzlement, "If Yumichika is pregnant then shouldn't ya have expected it? Ya have to go through a crap load of paperwork and signatures and have a physical and everything before ya even get approval from Head Captain Yamamoto."

A chuckle of condescension leaves Ikkaku's throat as he once again makes eye contact with Renji, "Yeah, the only thing is I didn't do any of that bullshit. So findin out Yumichika was pregnant was a real fuckin shock to the system."

Takahiro begins fussing and Renji adjusts the baby to a different position in order to bounce him slightly while still standing in place. He then gives Ikkaku an even more confused look, "What do ya mean ya didn't do any of that? Ya kinda have to…otherwise Captain Kurotsuchi is forbidden from giving you the lozenge."

For a split second, Ikkaku almost gives away where his lover had gotten the lozenge, but as mad as he was he didn't really want to get Yumichika in more trouble then he was going to be in already, "That ain't what's important right now. The thing is he lied to me and didn't even ask if I was fuckin' okay with it before he just did it."

"Yeah, well…ya never really gave him a chance did you?" Takahiro continues to fuss making the lieutenant bounce him a bit more vigorously, "I'm not saying that makes it right, but it kinda makes your argument invalid."

An even angrier expression appears on the bald man's face at hearing his friend's words, "I shoulda known ya would take his side. Ever since ya had that brat with Princess Kuchiki ya ain't the same."

Renji frowns as the baby begins to wail loudly, "Look, I'm not going to stand here and act like I'm the same and I ain't taking no one's side, but you really need to talk to Yumichika. Preferably now before things get worse." The redhead tries to soothe the baby with no success, "Listen, come back to my place and we can talk about all this."

The third seat watches the ruby haired baby flail and cry and he imagines Yumichika trying to take care of kid all alone. He was very angry with his lover, but he also wanted to try and work things out with him as well. He wanted to be stubborn and refuse Renji's offer, but he finds himself nodding his head, "Yeah, okay, but just fer a little while."

A sigh of relief leaves Renji's mouth as he finally heads toward Kuchiki manor with his screaming child in tow and a fuming Ikkaku behind him. If Ikkaku was this mad, he could only imagine how upset Yumichika must feel right about now. The two men finally make it to Kuchiki manor and Renji opens the door allowing Ikkaku to step inside first.

Renji leads his friend into the living room, "Just sit down and I'll be right back. I gotta change him and get his bottle ready, but I'll be back in a bit." He leaves the room, but quickly pops his head back in to tell Ikkaku something else, "Oh, by the way, Captain Kyoraku is coming by with Emiko soon. If ya hear a knock just answer it…we're a little short staffed with our servants today."

Before the third seat can object or argue, Renji leaves the room. Ikkaku once again looks around the room at all the family photos. There were even a few photos of Emiko holding Takahiro scattered about the room. The eleventh squad member lets out a nervous sigh. He just wanted this to all be a bad dream. He wanted to wake up and be lying on the futon with Yumichika and for all of this to be over. He knew that wasn't going to happen and places his face in his upturned hands.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there feeling sorry for himself when a knock brings him out of his thoughts. He figured that must be Captain Kyoraku with his own brat. Ikkaku listens to the knocking for a few more seconds before getting up and opening the door. The bearded captain's face shows his confusion, "I'm either at the wrong place or Renji decided to get a haircut."

Ikkaku frowns and turns away from the door, "Whatever, ya coming in or not?"

Shunsui shrugs and one and half year old Emiko just looks at her father with a bit of confusion on her face, "Come on, Emiko. I'm sure Renji and Takahiro are in here somewhere." He picks the raven haired little girl up and makes his way into the manor.

When he makes it to the living room, he sees Ikkaku sitting in one of the chairs with a very sullen expression on his face. He tries not to mention the waves of furious reiatsu coming off the younger shinigami, but tears begin to form in Emiko's grey eyes, "Man mean, daddy?"

The brunet captain strokes his daughter's black curls and shakes his head, "No, sweetie, you don't have to be afraid of him. He's just upset about something." He places her one the floor where she stands behind her father, "I was going to just give you some space, but since my little Emi brought it up I guess I should ask. What's gotten you so worked up, son?"

Ikkaku scoffs as he looks at the older man, "As if it's any of yer business or is that an order Captain?"

The older man makes his way farther into the room with Emiko close behind him gripping his pink kimono tightly in her tiny fists. Shunsui shakes his head, "No, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I was simply trying to be polite and offer any help I could since my daughter brought it up." He shuffles Emiko around and picks her up again before being seated and placing the little girl on his lap, "You'll have to forgive her. She's extremely sensitive to all types of reiatsu and she doesn't know that it's rude to ask questions about it yet."

Ikkaku was actually sort of impressed to hear that a one year old child could be so sensitive to things like that already, but doesn't allow his thoughts to be put to words and only grunts as he crosses his arms, "So where's yer wife today, Captain?"

"Ikkaku!" Renji suddenly reappears holding a now sated Takahiro in his arms, "Ya shouldn't speak to a Captain that way." He gives Captain Kyoraku an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry about that Captain. Ikkaku's just having some…personal life problems today."

A knowing expression crosses the elder shinigami's face and he only nods, "I see." He looks away from Renji and back at Ikkaku, "I didn't mean to pry in your business then and to answer your question, Jushiro is having one of his spells. Emiko and I can't go visit him get per Retsu's orders. That's why I brought Emiko here to play with Takahiro and get her mind off of it all for a little bit."

The brunet captain looks at Emiko and points up at the redheaded baby, "Well, there's your baby. Are you gonna sit with me all afternoon or are you gonna play with him?"

She nods as she slides from her father's lap and follows Renji to a soft pallet on the floor. The lieutenant places the baby on the pallet and Emiko lies down beside him and jiggles toys in front of his face and plays with a few toys herself as the baby watches in rapt attention. With the younger guests entertained, Shunsui waits for Renji to be seated before addressing the room, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything. If the two of you were discussing something private then by all means tell me to get out. I'll take the kids to another room and let the two of you finish your discussion."

Renji looks from the captain to his fuming friend and places a hand on Ikkaku's shoulder, "Actually, this might be a good time for ya to discuss everything. You have the only two guys in Seireitei who know what yer going through right here in the same room."

A curious expression appears on the bearded captain's face, but he doesn't try to coax Ikkaku into something he isn't ready to talk about, "I'd definitely be willing to listen and help where I can."

The third seat shifts uncomfortably in his seat. It was hard enough telling Renji what was going on. He didn't even really know much about Captain Kyoraku and even though he knew the older man would be able to help Ikkaku was still hesitant to bring up his troubles in front of the captain, "I'm sure the Captain don't give a sh…" He looks over at the kids and tries to remember to keep his language a bit cleaner, "crap about my problems,"

The tattooed lieutenant lets out a frustrated sigh and shakes his head, "Stop being so stubborn, Ikkaku. Ya wanna work things out with Yumichika, right? Captain Kyoraku knows more about all this stuff than either one of us. Just try opening up about it. In fact, the more that you admit it to other people the easier it will be to accept it."

Not being an idiot, Shunsui's expression changes to a knowing one, but he didn't want to jump the gun and make the bald man even more angry and uncomfortable, "I assure you that anything said in this room will not leave my lips. I'd love to help out with whatever's going on."

The eleventh squad member looks from one man to the other and weighs his options in his mind. He really did need to figure out what to do and the older captain was the best choice for advice. Ikkaku finally shrugs and opens his mouth to speak, "I guess it ain't such a bad idea to get some insight on everythin', but ya can't tell nobody anythin' I say and I don't want it gettin' back to Yumi."

Both men nod their agreeance to Ikkaku's terms and Renji speaks first, "Anything said here will not leave this room."

Shunsui nods and makes a gesture of crossing his heart with his finger, "You have my word that I will not say anything."

Ikkaku lets out a loud breath before uncrossing his arms and propping himself up on his elbows by placing them on his knees, "I just found out today that Yumichika is…is…"

Sensing the younger man's hesitancy, Shunsui decides to make things easier on the third seat, "Expecting?"

The bald shinigami only nods his head as he covers his face with his hands. When he looks up again both Renji and Shunsui are looking at him, "I just…I just wasn't ready fer any of this."

The same bewildered expression that appeared on Renji's face earlier shows on the brunet's face also, "If your partner is expecting a baby then why aren't you more excited? Why do you have such rage surrounding the situation?"

Ikkaku sits up a bit straighter and shoots a quick glance at the kids on the pallet after hearing Takahiro squeal with excitement. He then focuses his attention back to the Eighth Captain, "I didn't even know it was gonna happen. He didn't tell me anything and the next thing I know he's telling me he's pregnant. I never wanted this and he went behind my back and took matters into his own hands. How am I supposed feel? My best friend lied to me and made this…this life changin' decision without me and sure it's partly my fault, but he still had no right to do somethin' like that."

The third seat notices the quizzical look on the captain's face and speaks again, "And to answer yer question, I didn't sign no paperwork or go through any kinda procedure and to answer yer other question, Kurotsuchi didn't do it. He don't know nothin' about all this and to answer yer other question, I know where Yumichika got that lozenge, but I…I can't say. He's gonna be in so much trouble."

Renji lets out a concerned sigh after hearing Ikkaku's words, "Ya know ya can tell us anything. It's not like we're gonna run and tattle about where he got it. If he is pregnant then he's gonna have to come clean to Captain Unohana and she has to tell the Head Captain. So it wouldn't really so us ay good to tell it anyway."

Before Ikkaku can respond, Kyoraku holds up a hand halting any words from the other two men, "Where he got it is not important right now. The important thing we need to understand right now it why are you so angry about this? Is it the actual child that angers you or the fact that your partner lied to you? Why are you so furious about something that should be viewed as a blessing?"

Ikkaku remains quiet as he tries to find the right words to express how he's really feeling. Sure, he was mad about the whole situation, but was he really angry that Yumichika was pregnant or was he just scared to become someone's father. He was most definitely mad about the way his lover had gone about the whole thing, but then again he had pushed Yumichika away whenever he tried to discuss it. It all made him furious though…his ignorance and Yumichika's stubbornness to get what he wanted. When the third seat finally answers the older man's question he was more confused than when Yumichika first confessed he was pregnant, "I…I don't really know. I'm just pissed that he went and did this without talkin' to me, but then again I…I didn't really let him talk. I'm just mad about it all I guess."

Shunsui nods and without missing a beat he responds, "You're scared."

An indignant expression shows on the bald man's face and his anger returns full force making Emiko look toward them. He felt bad for making the little girl upset, but he couldn't help it, "I ain't scared! I ain't scared of nothin' much less this."

The Eighth Captain only responds with an amused smirk before speaking again, "No offense, son, but there'd be something wrong with you if you weren't scared. I will never deny how scared I was when Jushiro told me the news and I assure you Renji will tell you the same thing." He continues to look at Ikkaku's angry features, but continues, "It doesn't mean you're weak it just means that something is happening that you have no control over. Not having control is a scary thing. Trust me…with pregnancy and kids you are not in control of most of the things that happen and it is scary. I get scared every time Emiko changes because I know things will not always be the same as she grows older. You're scared because you're about to be a father and you don't know what that's like and that's okay."

Ikkaku remains quiet as he silently fumes at being told he was scared, but Renji picks up where the older shinigami left off, "He's right ya know. Byakuya and I planned it all out and I was still unprepared for how much our lives would change and if anyone knows what it's like to have a surprise pregnancy thrown at them it's Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake. You should listen to him. It's gonna take some talking and some truth telling, but I think if you honestly wanna work things out with Yumichika then that's what ya need to do. Stop blaming other people for the things that happen in yer life. Ya both have things that need to be said and the two of ya need to stop skirting around all the uncomfortable moments in yer life and just talk to each other."

Shunsui nods in agreement with the redhead and gazes fondly over at Emiko and smiles, "I'll never forget how I felt when I realized Jushiro was telling the truth and I knew I was going to be someone's dad. I didn't know how I felt about it all and I was more than a little bit confused, but I knew that I helped create a whole other person and that made me feel…important. Jushiro and I were going to have a child and it would actually be our child that we made together. Now, I can't imagine a life without her in it." He turns his gaze back to the bald third seat, "If he wanted a baby and you didn't he could have given up on you a long time ago, but he didn't. You wanna know why? Because he didn't just want a baby…he wanted your baby. He wanted to take that next step with you."

Kyoraku gives the younger man a chance to speak and when Ikkaku remains silent he continues, "I'm not saying how he went about it was right, but he definitely loves you and wants the important things in his life to be shared with you. Do you know how wonderful that should make you feel? He wants his life to be infused with yours in every aspect. Think about that for a little bit and I promise you will see this whole thing a lot differently."

As much as Ikkaku wanted to deny everything the other two shinigami had said, he found that he couldn't discredit anything they were saying. He did love Yumichika and if he had ever thought about doing anything of import he always thought about his lover first. Yes, the fifth seat had been dishonest, but Ikkaku had been the most dishonest with himself. He did want Yumichika to be happy and for the first time since this whole baby stuff first started, he realized that his and Yumichika's baby is what would make his lover the happiest and it didn't mean that Ikkaku wasn't good enough. It all meant that Yumichika was happiest when they shared their disappointments and triumphs together. Yumichika didn't want just anyone's baby…he wanted to start a family with Ikkaku. Yumichika thought that he was important enough to start a family with him and until now Ikkaku had never once thought of it that way before, "Maybe…maybe, I am a little scared and maybe, I never thought about any of that stuff before. I guess I'm still mad about what he did, but I guess I can understand why he did it." He rubs the back of his head absentmindedly, "Maybe…we should talk about it all."

Renji smiles and gives the Eighth Captain a subtle thumbs up behind Ikkaku's back before bringing attention to himself, "So…how exactly did all this happen anyway?"

The third seat gives his red haired friend a confused look, "What do ya mean? The same way it happened fer everyone else…insert tab A into slot B and…"

"No, no!" Renji waves his hands in front of him to stop Ikkaku from explaining any more, "I meant where did Yumichika get the lozenge?"

Shunsui sits up a bit and becomes interested, but he doesn't say anything giving Ikkaku the floor again. The bald man lets out a sigh before finally confessing, "Ya can't tell no one this, but he actually stole it from…from here."

Renji's brown eyes widen as he stares at his friend, "What? Here? As in Kuchiki Manor?"

Ikkaku nods, "Yeah, said he stole it outta the bathroom cabinet." An even more worried expression appears on the third seat's face, "He stole from a captain and he didn't get permission. I guess he's gonna be in a lot of trouble when everyone finds out."

All three men are suddenly startled when they hear a familiar voice from the door way, "I will not press charges for the theft. If Renji and I had not been so careless the lozenge would not have been so readily available for our house guests to find."

The Sixth Captain makes his way to the pallet in the middle of the room and ruffles Emiko's hair before picking his red haired son up from the floor. He looks at Ikkaku once the baby is securely in his arms, "The Head Captain may not be so forgiving considering the two of you did not gain permission nor the proper signatures and physical examinations."

Renji finally addresses his lover, "How long were ya standing there, Byakuya?"

The raven haired shinigami cradles the drowsy baby in his arms before finally looking at his lover, "Long enough to know that fifth seat Ayasegawa will need all the help he can get during such a trying time as pregnancy. My advice is to make amends for whatever transgressions the two of you have committed and move on." His gaze shifts to Ikkaku with his next words, "His child is your child as well and no child ever asks to be brought into this world. I suggest you get used to being a father now. Your partner is also going to need you by his side during his reprimand from the Head Captain."

Shunsui nods, "He's right. No matter how tough a guy is nothing will make him more vulnerable than carrying a child."

Ikkaku decided they were all right, but the third seat refused to admit that to any of them. He also knew that he and Yumichika needed to talk things out, but he still didn't know if he could have a civilized conversation with the fifth seat just yet. The anger at what had happened was still a bit too fresh, "I think we need a few days apart, but I ain't gonna back out on my responsibilities."

The third seat stands up making Renji stand as well, "Hey, ya know ya can stay here if ya need to." The redhead looks at Byakuya as if seeking permission for his already spoken invitation.

When Ikkaku notices the Sixth Captain's nod he seriously considers the offer, "I'll keep that in mind, but right now I gotta go clear my head."

This time the redhead doesn't try to stop him.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks once again fro reading! Please tell me what you think!  
**


	13. Mother to Mother

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**I'm back way sooner than I anticipated with an update. Not much to say before hand. So read and enjoy!  
**

**Special Thanks: Vincent for the review, Guest for the review, and kyuumihaira for the review!**

* * *

8 Weeks

Yumichika sat nervously in the exam room of the Squad Four medical building. He hadn't seen nor heard from Ikkaku since their fight the day he confessed his pregnancy. He really did hope that they could eventually work things out, but he couldn't say that he really blamed the third seat for being angry. He had lied to him and stolen from not only their friend, but also a Captain. He had only been sitting in the exam room for a few minutes, but it felt like he'd been there for an eternity. He finds that he just can't stop the tears that prick at the corner of his violet eyes. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to be sitting in the exam room alone. Ikkaku was supposed to be here with him helping him remain calm.

The tears finally spill down his cheeks and as much as he tried not to sob he couldn't help it. He just hoped Captain Unohana wouldn't make a big deal out of his tears. He wanted to just get the exam done and make sure the baby was okay and then try to be happy without Ikkaku there to rejoice with him. He hears a knock on the door and quickly wipes his tears on the paper gown he was wearing, "C-come in."

Having been expecting Captain Unohana, the fifth seat was more than surprised when the white haired Captain of Squad Thirteen walked through the door. Jushiro smiles as he closes the door behind him, "Hello, I'm sorry for just barging in and if Retsu catches me I will be in big trouble, but I heard crying and I wanted to make sure you were okay." He gives Yumichika another friendly smile as his mind searches for the name of the man sitting on the exam table, "It's…Ayasegawa, correct?"

Yumichika nods and wipes his face again, "Yes, but…but what are you doing here?"

The Thirteenth Captain lets out a chuckle, "I think the better question would be when am I not here?" He notices that the younger man doesn't find his joke as funny as he does and Jushiro's smile wilts into a frown at how sad the fifth seat looked, "But, to answer your question, I'm being discharged today and even though I am fully capable of getting home by myself Shunsui always insists on walking me home after one of my episodes."

Yumichika didn't know why the older man's words made him cry, but fresh tears slip down his face. He supposed he could blame it on the hormones, "Th-that's really sweet."

Captain Ukitake walks farther into the room and places a pale hand on the crying shinigami's shoulder, "It may not be my business, but why are you here and why are you so upset?"

A barrage of memories from his and Ikkaku's fight surge through his mind and he finds that he can't stop the flood of tears that rush down his face and before he even realized he was doing it, he found himself resting in the older man's embrace as he continued sobbing, "I…I'm sorry…you should go. You'll get in trouble if Captain Unohana finds you in here."

Yumichika straightens up and removes himself from Jushiro's embrace as he wipes his face again, But Captain Ukitake doesn't make to retreat from the room, "It won't be the first time I've been in trouble with Retsu I assure you. I'm certainly not going to leave you alone when you're obviously so upset." The older shinigami sends a small surge of calming reiatsu into the distraught man on the table and the tingle that shoots up his arm afterward brings back something Shunsui had told him earlier in the week, "Oh, I see…I had almost forgotten when Shunsui mentioned it because I had just been medicated."

Yumichika had felt the warmth of the Captain's reiatsu enter his body, but he didn't know what the older man was talking about, "I'm sorry…what?"

The white haired shinigami gives Yumichika an understanding smile, "You're pregnant aren't you?" He doesn't wait for Yumichika to respond and continues talking, "Shunsui mentioned it, but I had forgotten until just now. I felt it…it was tiny, but there."

The fifth seat gives the Captain an expression of intrigue, "You gathered all that from just one touch?"

"I've been around a long time. I picked up a few things during the centuries." Jushiro's optimistic expression fades as he realizes that the fifth seat is alone aside from himself, "But, if you're pregnant why are you so sad and where is your partner? Madarame…right?"

Fresh tears spill forth at the mention of Ikkaku and much to Yumichika's displeasure the sobbing begins again. He hated being this vulnerable. He was supposed to be strong. He was supposed to be able to handle this all by himself, but it was more difficult than he ever imagined it would be, "Your touch can't tell you everything then." He sniffles and wipes his eyes, "Ikkaku never wanted children. I…I shouldn't have done what I did, but now it's too late and he's angry with me for being pregnant. He…he didn't know until I was already pregnant."

Jushiro avoids the most obvious question of where did he get the lozenge without procedure and tries to comfort the Eleventh Squad member. It certainly wasn't everyday that you came across a seated Squad Eleven member crying in an exam room in Fourth Division, "Surely he will come around. I don't have many dealings with Squad Eleven, but even a blind man would be able to see how much the two of you love each other." He gives the younger man a comforting smile, "In fact, whenever Yachiru comes by for candy and to play with Emiko she tells me all the time how wonderful the two of you are. She says she knows you argue with each other the most because you're in love." He chuckles softly and pats Yumichika on the shoulder, "She's not wrong. I've never been more angry at anyone more than I have been at Shunsui on occasion."

A small smile forms on Yumichika's face at hearing what Yachiru had to say about them when they weren't around, "But, I was dishonest with him and I…I stole that lozenge from Kuchiki Manor. I…I'm going to be in a lot of trouble. None of this was Ikkaku's fault and I don't want him to get in trouble too."

A sympathetic look appears on the Thirteenth Captain's face as he listens to Yumichika, "I'm sure you can work something out with Byakuya and the Head Captain is a lot more understanding than you might think. You will most definitely get a tongue lashing and some sort of punishment, but it won't be as bad as you think."

Yumichika just stares blankly at the Captain with watery eyes and shakes his head, "It wasn't supposed to be this way. We were supposed to be happy, but…but he just wouldn't listen and I got anxious and it just happened all wrong."

"No, don't say that." The white haired shinigami shakes his head and squeezes Yumichika's shoulder, "You're going to have a baby and no matter how that came to be it's not wrong or a mistake. Shunsui and I were scared to death when we found out and even though I had been a science project and had no say in the matter Emiko was still our child. We even had the choice of keeping or aborting and the latter choice never crossed our minds. We didn't know anything about being parents and we hadn't even planned it, but she was ours and she was wonderful and perfect." He smiles at Yumichika and releases the younger man's shoulder, "Everything will work out for the best and a few months from now you'll wonder why you were so upset about it all. Your partner will come around once he's had time to think it all through."

Yumichika nods and actually allows a smile to spread across his face, "Thank you for talking to me." He wipes his face again and straightens up the paper robe where it had slipped down his shoulder, "I really hope you don't get in trouble for being in here though."

The older man's green eyes widen as he remembers where he is and he begins walking toward the door, "Shunsui will be wondering what's taking me so long." Jushiro opens the door and looks back at Yumichika, "Good luck with it all and if you ever have any questions for me or if you just want to talk I don't mind." He looks out the door and quickly looks back into the exam room with a smile on his face, "Looks like your luck is turning around already."

The Captain leaves the exam room leaving Yumichika a bit confused until he hears another knock on the door, "Come in." Once again expecting Captain Unohana, Yumichika is a mixture of surprise and anxiety when the bald head of his lover peers in through the door, "I-Ikkaku? What are you doing here?"

Ikkaku makes his way fully into the room and shuts the door behind him, "It's my kid in there right? Ya did invite me ya know?"

Yumichika tries to smooth his hair down and look as if he hadn't just been crying, but he felt sure that Ikkaku could see right through his tough façade, "I'm glad you came. I know you're mad at me and I don't blame you, but…"

Ikkaku holds up a hand to halt his lover's words, "We ain't gotta talk about all that shit here, but we are gonna talk when we get home. I'm mad as hell about what ya did, but I guess…I guess I shoulda tried harder to listen to what ya had to say." His cheeks tint pink, but Yumichika doesn't mention it, "I want us to talk all this shit out no matter how mad it makes us. I want…I want to be a…a good dad to that kid and I ain't gonna run away from my responsibilities. Besides, I can't let Renji be a better dad than me."

A small smile graces the fifth seat's features and he nods, "I want that too. I want us to be honest with each other even when it's hard to do that." New tears form in his eyes and he doesn't even try to stop them. He needed Ikkaku to see how sorry he was for what he'd done, "I never ever meant to hurt you or lie to you, Ikkaku, you have to believe that. I had a reason for everything I did. I know that doesn't make what I did right, but I didn't do it to hurt you."

Ikkaku blinks back his own tears because he didn't even want Yumichika to see him cry and he makes his way to the exam table where he grabs his lover's hand in his and gives it a light squeeze, "We'll talk it all out later."

Yumichika nods and when the third knock sounds this time the person behind the door actually was Captain Unohana. She gives them a polite smile as she closes the door behind her. She looks at her chart and gives the two of them a serious look, "Pregnancy suspicion? I'm not going to ask how you managed that without the proper procedure, but you do know that if you are indeed pregnant I am required to report my findings to Head Captain Yamamoto?"

Yumichika swallows hard, but nods his head, "Yes, I know that, but…but Ikkaku didn't know. If you have to report it then just report me."

Ikkaku shakes his head, "Hell no! Ya might've done this without my permission, but I ain't lettin' ya go down by yerself. I ain't gonna do that!"

Captain Unohana clears her throat and places the chart on the table, "Gentlemen, we can discuss all of those things after the examination." She walks over to a small machine in the corner and carries it closer to the exam table, "Due the short notice of the situation, we will only get to hear the heartbeat today if you are indeed pregnant. We weren't able to borrow the ultrasound on such short notice." She gives them a smile, "Although, if we keep having new arrivals we made need to purchase our own."

Yumichika lets out a nervous sigh as he lies back on the exam table. He was really hoping he would get to see the baby, but hearing the heartbeat would be wonderful too especially since Ikkaku would hear it as well. The Fourth Captain then opens the fifth seat's paper gown, "I'll use a fetal Doppler to listen for the heartbeat." She then places the wand on his abdomen.

At first nothing can really be heard but muffled sounds until Retsu finds the right spot. The small exam room is soon filled with the thumping sound of a little heartbeat. Yumichika smiles and chances a glance at Ikkaku. The fifth seat was shocked to see a smile on his lover's face as well. Captain Unohana allows them to listen for a little bit longer before turning the machine off and covering Yumichika with the robe once again, "Sounds nice and healthy. You are indeed pregnant. I'd ask that you come back next week when we have a proper ultrasound machine and I can more accurately calculate how many weeks along you are."

Ikkaku is the first to speak, "Why was it so loud? Is it supposed to sound like that? I thought it'd be softer or somethin'?"

Yumichika had wondered the same thing and he didn't want to say anything, but he could have sworn he heard more than one heart thumping away, "I thought the same thing."

Unohana places the Doppler machine back in its rightful place and addresses their questions, "Some baby's hearts are stronger than others and sometimes the Doppler picks up the mother's heartbeat as well. I won't know anything for certain until we perform the ultrasound." A more serious expression appears on her face with her next words, "The Head Captain will send for you by way of Hell Butterfly once he has been informed. Until then I suggest you break the news to Captain Zaraki."

Both men reflect the same terrified expression. Neither of them had even once considered the fact that Captain Zaraki would need to be notified. Captain Unohana walks them out and the two of them head back to their home in silence. Yumichika new their talk wouldn't be a pleasant one, but he knew it was necessary. After they worked out all their personal problems then they would figure out how to break the pregnancy news to their own Captain.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks for reading!  
**


	14. The Talk and Captain Zaraki

**I do not own Bleach.**

* * *

**I am trying my hardest to get as many chapters out as I can before I start my new job on Monday. So here is chapter 14 for all you wonderful readers!  
**

**Special thanks: kyuumihaira for the review, EzraTheBlue for the review, and Vincent for the review!**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

The walk home was a quiet one, but Yumichika was smiling on the inside when he remembered the sound of their baby's heartbeat and the smile on Ikkaku's face. Ikkaku was even holding his hand which was something the third seat almost never did when they were walking out in public. The fifth seat knew their talk wouldn't be pleasant and after they came to terms with their own problems they would have a whole new set of them to deal with. Firstly, they had to tell Captain Zaraki of the pregnancy and hope he didn't reach a whole new level of anger and secondly, they would have to wait for the arrival of the Head Captain's Hell butterfly. The wait for what Head Captain Yamamoto would do was making Yumichika overly anxious.

When the two of them finally reach their home, Ikkaku lets go of his lover's hand and turns to look at him, "Before we start this talk…um, I don't want it to be another fight. I…I know I'm the one to blame fer most of our fights, but I really do want us to get over this…whatever 'this' is."

Yumichika nods his head because he wanted that as well, "I agree, Ikkaku, and if…if I get over emotional it's just hormones so don't freak out."

A soft chuckle leaves the bald man's mouth as he nods, "Okay, I guess I should get used to that then, huh?"

"Yeah, apparently it happens to the best of us." Yumichika opens the door to their home and steps inside. It seemed like it had been forever since he and Ikkaku were here together even though it had only been a week. Ikkaku follows him inside and shuts the door behind them.

The two men stand in the middle of the room and the air around them is filled with awkward tension. Neither of them really knew how to begin the very much needed conversation. Finally, Ikkaku is the one to break the silence, "So…um, why don't ya start out by telling me everythin' that made ya wanna have a baby? I know that…um, ya wanted to have a kid with me and all, but ya ain't never wanted that before and I guess I'm just curious as to why ya wanted it so badly?"

Yumichika knew exactly what his lover was asking him, but he also knew Ikkaku wasn't always so eloquent with his words. The third seat essentially wanted to know if Yumichika only wanted a baby because one of their best friends had a baby and if he would regret his bold move to become pregnant later on. The raven haired shinigami contemplates his words for a moment before addressing his lover's question, "This isn't some fleeting fancy if that's what you're asking. I've wanted this for a long time and not just since Emiko and Takahiro came along."

The fifth seat swallows down his nervousness as he soldiers on with his explanation, "Since the moment you and I became serious all those years ago I knew I would never find anyone that made me feel the way you do. You never judged me for something or someone I wasn't. You never cared that I wasn't a beautiful woman and you never looked down on me for the things I'd done in my past. I knew from the first time that you told me you loved me that I would never leave your side and that I wanted everything there was to have with you. I always wanted a family with you and I knew that wasn't possible unless we adopted, but then we became shinigami for Squad Eleven and it just never seemed like the right time to bring it up."

Tears begin to slowly seep from his violet eyes as continues, "I grew to accept you and Yachiru and the Captain as my family and that was good enough for a long time because I knew all the other dreams of a family I had in my head just wouldn't work. Then Emiko came along and I knew there was a possibility of you and I having our own actual child and I wanted that. I kept silent though because I didn't know if the Head Captain would allow it do be done again after what happened to Captain Ukitake. Then Takahiro was here and I just thought about it night and day." He wipes his face on his sleeve, but more tears spill down his cheeks as he continues, "I never want to be without you Ikkaku, but you…you're so reckless sometimes and I'm so afraid that one day…one day…"

Yumichika pauses for a moment as a wave of terror and grief fill his soul and his mind, "I'm so afraid that one day I'll lose you and then what would happen to me? I can take care of myself, but I wouldn't be the same without you and I know that a baby will never take your place if you were gone, but at least…" Fast, hot tears streak down his face and smear his make up, but at this point he didn't care about any of those things, "At least I would have a part of you here with me."

The petite shinigami finds that he can't go on and just lets the salty tears rush down his face and he sobs loudly at the thought of Ikkaku not being by his side and as much as he tries to stop the flow of his tears he can't. He then feels the warmth of his lover's arms around him and a large calloused hand stroking his hair. It felt so good to have Ikkaku hold him and he just remains in the strong embrace taking in his lover's scent and listening to Ikkaku's heart hammer away in his chest. The thumping of the third seat's heart was actually very comforting because it meant that Ikkaku was still here and Yumichika wasn't alone.

Finally, Ikkaku breaks through his lover's weeping and voices his own thoughts while still holding the fifth seat in his arms, "I never knew ya felt that way, babe. Ya shouldn't keep all that stuff bottled up inside ya. I know…I know I ain't been the most supportive person about all this baby stuff, but ya couldn'tve told me how ya felt about all that other stuff." When Yumichika remains quiet aside from his sniffling Ikkaku begins speaking again, "I did have a good reason why I didn't wanna a baby though. I just…ya know I ain't good at explainin' myself most of the time."

Yumichika lifts his face from Ikkaku's chest to be able to look into the third seat's eyes, "Then tell me now. Help me understand."

The larger shinigami lets out a deep sigh as he finally releases Yumichika from his embrace to be able to look at his beautiful lover's tear stained face, "I saw how much havin' a baby changed Renji and I know I give him a hard time about it all, but he…he really is a good dad and the change isn't exactly bad, but…but I just saw how much time it took away from him and I guess that ain't a bad thing, but…I just wasn't ready fer a change like that and…" He hesitates for a moment trying to find the right words to express himself, "What if we went out on a mission and…and somethin' happened and we didn't come back. Who's gonna take care of our kid? What if I came back and ya didn't?" He lets out a nervous sigh, "I don't know nothin' about raising a kid…especially not without ya and even worse is if ya came back and I didn't. Then yer here with our kid all alone and no one to help ya."

The third seat bites his bottom lip to hold his own emotions back because he knew he had to be brave and strong for Yumichika and their baby. He had to be ready whether he was or not because this was happening now and there was nothing he could do to stop it, "I had my reasons, babe, but I…I didn't know how to tell ya without gettin' angry and frustrated with myself fer not being able to give ya what ya wanted to be happy. I always want ya to be happy and I…I felt like I had failed ya everytime ya'd bring up wantin a baby."

Yumichika gives his lover a tear-filled incredulous look, "Goddammit, Ikkaku! Why didn't you ever tell me that before? Now, I feel like a selfish asshole."

The bald shinigami chuckles as he once again brings his lover into his arms and kisses the top of Yumichika's raven hair, "Ya don't gotta feel like an asshole. We both shoulda made our peace with all this a long time ago." Ikkaku takes in the flowery smell of Yumichika's hair and smiles, "Yer pregnant now and I ain't ready yet, but I will be. I'll be the best damn dad any kid's ever had. Hell, if Renji and Kyoraku can be good dads then so can I." He pulls away from the fifth seat with a smile on his face, "I'm gonna be here fer ya and that baby and I'm gonna be ready when we bring our kid home. I swear I'm gonna learn everything and help ya anyway I can. Ya gotta believe me, Yumi."

Yumichika smiles as well. He never in a million years dreamed that Ikkaku would make such a turn around on his feelings about them having a baby. The fifth seat still felt terrible about lying to his lover and about stealing from their friend, but knowing that Ikkaku was on his side he knew he could tackle anything, "So, how are we going to break the news to Zaraki?"

Ikkaku grabs Yumichika's hand tightly in his as a determined expression forms on his face, "Together…I mean it when I say I'm gonna be here for ya."

Those words were all that Yumichika needed to hear to make him feel like maybe everything would eventually be okay. He takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it back out, "I think the sooner we tell Zaraki the better. In fact, we should break the news to him before I get summoned before the Head Captain."

Ikkaku nods and never lets go of his lover's hand as he leads them out the door and toward the Captain's quarters. Yumichika was more than a little nervous about telling Captain Zaraki, but the sooner the better was the best course of action.

Once they make it to Captain Zaraki's quarters they knock half a dozen times before the door opens to reveal their pink headed lieutenant, "Hiya, Baldy! Hey, Feathers! What are you guys doing here? Kenny didn't say he was going anywhere today so you don't have to play with me or anything like that."

Ikkaku clears his throat and looks right at Yachiru, "Get outta the way, squirt. We gotta talk to the Captain…alone."

An obstinate expression plays across the young girl's face, "Anything you say to Kenny can be said to me too." She gives him a big grin, "Unless you brought me a present. Then I'll leave you alone to talk to Kenny."

The third seat's face begins to turn red as he balls his hands into fists, "You don't need a god damn present fer us to talk to the Captain! Now get outta the way and let us talk to him!"

Yumichika frowns and gives Ikkaku a stern look, "Ikkaku, that's no way to talk to the lieutenant." He turns his attention to Yachiru and smiles, "Not to worry…I have a present for you, but you have to be a good girl and go and play while we speak with the Captain if I give it to you."

The young lieutenant thinks about this for a moment before nodding her cotton candy colored head, "Hmmm, okay…now present!"

The fifth seat reaches into his pocket and fishes out a packet of cookies that he had really been saving for himself and hands them over to Yachiru, "A brand new packet of cookies and they're your favorite flavor."

Her eyes light up with excitement at the sight of the cookies and she quickly grabs them from Yumichika, "Thanks, Feathers!"

As the little girl hugs the cookies to her chest, Yumichika addresses her once more, "You know, I heard that Captain Ukitake has a fresh supply of candy and he may even have some milk for you to wash those cookies down with if you hurry."

A wide smile spreads across her young face, "That candy is mine!"

Without another word, Yachiru disappears in the direction of Squad Thirteen and Ikkaku gives Yumichika a shocked look, "Where in the hell did ya get those cookies?"

Yumichika shrugs, "I'm pregnant…I eat, I throw up, and then I'm hungry again from throwing up. I just started keeping things to eat in my pocket." He lets out a loud sigh, "Now, let's get this over with." Ikkaku nods and the two of them walk into the Captain's quarters with determined expressions on their faces.

Captain Zaraki is at his desk when they walk farther into the room, but the Captain never used the desk for actual work and had his feet propped up on the desk top as he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, "Where'd Yachiru run off to and what are you two doing in here?"

Yumichika steels his resolve and clears his throat, "We sent Yachiru on a candy hunt because we need to tell you something very important."

Zaraki slides his feet from the desk top and sits up a bit straighter, but still slumps slightly over the desk, "What's goin on? Why're you being so formal? And why does Madarame look like he's about to piss himself?"

Ikkaku gives the Captain an offended look as he frowns, "I ain't about to piss myself. We just gotta tell ya somethin' unusual."

A sly grin erupts over the Eleventh Captain's face as he leans in to be able to hear them better, "Unusual, eh? Well, spit it out. I ain't got all god damn day."

Yumichika swallows down the lump of apprehension in his throat and decides the best course of action was to just 'spit it out' as the Captain put it, "Ikkaku and I are…expecting a baby."

The room becomes deathly quiet and Yumichika was afraid everyone would be able to hear his heart pounding in the silent room. Finally Captain Zaraki shatters the quiet with the most unusual response, "About fucking time."

A confused expression appears on both their faces and Ikkaku leans in to whisper to Yumichika, "Did he say about time?"

Yumichika nods and whispers back, "Yeah, I think so." The fifth seat clears his throat and looks at the Captain once more, "Um, Captain…have you been drinking? Did you hear what I said?"

Zaraki rolls his eyes with only one being visible considering his eye patch covered the other, "I ain't fuckin' drunk. I heard what you said and Yachiru has been driving me bat shit crazy day in and day out ever since that first kid came along about when the two of you would have a kid. At least now I'll get some fuckin' relief from all her questions about it."

Yumichika certainly didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but Zaraki's attitude toward everything just really seemed out of character, "Um, but aren't you upset because we didn't tell you about it first and I won't be able to do my normal squad duties anymore."

A bit of a repulsed look appears on Zaraki's face as he answers the fifth seat's questions, "Hell no! I mean I know the two of you fuck, but I don't need to know when you do it and besides you're the only one who ever fills out any paperwork. Maybe if you do our paperwork for a few months we'll get out of the fuckin' hole on back logged shit." He stands up from the desk and gives them both a curious look, "So when's the little brat due anyway? You don't look pregnant."

Yumichika over looks the Captain's ignorance of how pregnancy progressed and only shakes his head, "Well, I haven't actually been given a due date yet, but it will be about seven more months if everything goes well."

"Seven months, huh?" Zaraki lets out a loud laugh as he points at Ikkaku, "And you think you can turn this doofus into a good father by then?"

Ikkaku crosses his arms and looks a bit put out, "Hey! I ain't that dumb."

The Captain laughs again and returns to his seat, "I ain't mad just as long as you let Yachiru fawn over it when it gets here." He yawns and resumes his first position with his feet on the desk top, "Just keep me updated on the little shit's progress."

"Um, Captain…there is something else?" Yumichika feels his hands begin to tremble, but he had to tell Zaraki the truth, "I went against procedure and I'll be getting a reprimand from the Head Captain and…"

Zaraki waves his hand in front of him in a bored gesture, "Fuck that…I'll back the two of you up all the way just so long as I get a break from Yachiru's fuckin' questions and you do all the paperwork."

The raven haired man lets out a relieved sigh at hearing the Captain's words, "Thank you, Captain."

Zaraki yawns again before slipping his feet off the desk and lying his head down on the desk top, "Yeah, whatever…is that all?"

Ikkaku and Yumichika nod and speak at the same time, "Yes."

The Eleventh Captain closes his visible eye and yawns once more, "Then get out so I can take a nap."

The two of them don't argue or say another word and leave the Captain's quarters. They were both feeling pretty good about the encounter until they reach their own quarters and see a black Hell butterfly fluttering patiently in the doorway. Yumichika extends his finger allowing the butterfly to light on his fingertip.

TBC…

* * *

**Thanks again for reading and hopefully it won't be long before I get chapter 15 out.  
**


End file.
